Some Scars Don't ShowIn Daylight
by MelodysMom
Summary: This fic deals with a very serious topic; both for the character introduced, and for our hero, Sam. At the end of this fic, I'll have a link where you can find more information, but please,whatever you do. Don't remain silent. It's the worst thing to do. Disclaimers: Not mine, they belong to the writing god, Aaron Sorkin. Feedback: Is appreciated greatly, and encourages me to
1. Chapter 1

Title: "Some Scars Don't Show…In Daylight"  
Rating: R – for mature themes and strong angst - NC-17 eventually...hang in there!  
Summary: This fic deals with a very serious topic; both for the character introduced, and for our hero, Sam. At the end of this fic, I'll have a link where you can find more information, but please,  
whatever you do. Don't remain silent. It's the worst thing to do.  
Disclaimers: Not mine, they belong to the writing god, Aaron Sorkin.  
Feedback: Is appreciated greatly, and encourages me to keep going. I like to know if people are enjoying my high angst stories, so if you like this story, please let me know!

Part 1.  
"Hey Josh, you comin'?"  
"Yeah."  
I finish putting my coat over my shoulders, and stand by his door, waiting for him to leave.  
"DONNA!"  
"WHAT?"  
"DON'T YELL!"  
"YOU STARTED IT!"  
"God, when are you two gonna get married? Geez…"  
Josh looks up at me with his `I'm not impressed' look, and as soon as he's about to open his mouth, Donna appears at his door.  
"What did you want? I hope it's not something time critical, because I was just about to go home."  
"Well, if you don't want to come, that's up to you."  
She gets an excited look on her face.  
"OOH! Where `ya goin'?"  
"Josh and I were going to the bar up the road for a drink. Wanna come?"  
"Sure! Lemme get my coat."  
She turns around in a flash. Before I can say God Bless America, she's back and ready to go.  
"Hey Donna. Have a good night."  
"Thanks, CJ."  
"Hey, we're all going to the bar up the street. Wanna come?"  
"Sure! I'll grab Toby."  
I'm going to hold my tongue. I'm going to hold my tongue. I'm going to…  
"You're gonna grab him where?"  
I can't help but smile, as Josh says what I so desperately wanted to.  
"I'm gonna grab him by the scruff of his neck, and drag him to come with us. Is that alright with you Mr. Lyman?"  
Oh oh, she's pissed. I'm glad I didn't say that, despite it being incredibly funny.  
"Fine by me, Ms. Cregg. That about does it. Let's get out of here."  
With that, we all head to the parking lot, get in our cars and head down Pennsylvania Avenue to the bar.

"So it's not really about that particular part of the bill. It's about the whole thing in general."  
"Yeah. See, the Republicans want the bill to go through, but we're saying that it's a stupid bill, and shouldn't even make it through the first reading. That's if I have my way. What do you think, Sam?"  
I shake my head at the sound of my name.  
"Huh?"  
"I said, what do you think about the thing?"  
"Yeah. Sure. Whatever."  
"Sam, are you a Democrat?"  
"Yes, of course."  
"Well, you know that Democrats are opposed to that, don't you?"  
I shake my head again to try and bring myself into the conversation.  
"What? What are you talking about?"  
"Where are you, buddy, `cause you're sure as hell not here."  
He casts a glance where my stare is, and he gets a smug smile on his face. He turns to Donna and whispers so that everyone can hear.  
"Must be mating season."  
Donna laughs at my expense, but when I cast her a look she takes her smile back.  
"It's not mating season, it's just that…"  
"It's mating season."  
"Josh. Be nice."  
"Donna, I am being nice."  
"You're cut off. You've had three, and that's enough."  
"Yes mother."  
He turns to look at me again, and notices that I'm still looking towards a booth at the back of the bar.  
"What is it, Sam?"  
"I swear to God, I know her. I just don't know from where."  
"Well, go find out."  
I start to get up from the table and respond.  
"Yeah. K."  
I walk through the crowd of people and stand at the table where there is a very striking woman sitting in the booth, her long dark brown hair pulled back in a ponytail, and she's working on some type of  
paperwork. I stand there for a moment, and she doesn't even realize that there's someone there; until I clear my throat. She gets a little startled, but she looks up at me.  
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you, but I was just across the  
floor with my friends and I saw you here. You seem very familiar to me, but I don't know where I know you from."  
She looks at me with a serious look on her face, then she smiles a bright smile.  
"Sam? Is it you?"  
As soon as I heard her voice, I knew her.  
"Catherine! How are you? It's been, what? 13 years?"  
She stands up from where she was seated, and I pull her towards me for a brief hug.  
"At least! Look at you! You look fantastic! I see politics agrees with you, Sam."  
"Yeah, well I didn't think I should go into science; seeing as I almost failed that class."  
"That's because you were never there, you were too busy surfing."  
I smile.  
"True. You've got me on that one. So how are you?"  
She smiles.  
"I'm doing alright. It's good to see you again."  
"You too."  
We stand there for a moment, not saying anything to each other, when I make a decision.  
"Cath, come with me. Pack this stuff up, if you can, then come meet everyone."  
She looks a little pensive, but she nods her head and packs her files into her briefcase, and we walk to the table where everyone has obviously been watching us. As we approach the table, they obviously  
are changing the subject of conversation for my benefit.  
"Hey, buddy."  
I put my hand on Catherine's back, and introduce her to everyone.  
"Catherine Wilson, it's still Wilson, right?"  
She smiles at me and nods her head yes.  
"I'd like to introduce you to the illustrious group of people that I work with. Josh Lyman."  
He stands up and shakes her hand.  
"Hi there."  
"Hi."  
"Donna Moss."  
She waves at Catherine.  
"Hi."  
"Hi."  
"My immediate boss, Toby Ziegler."  
He stands up and extends a hand to her.  
"Nice to meet you, Miss."  
"Thank you. You too."  
"And Claudia Jean Cregg."  
"It's C.J. Hi there."  
"Hi. It's nice to meet all of you."  
"C.J. Scooch over so we can both sit down."  
"Scooch? What kind of word is that, Sam?"  
"Toby, it's a verb. You know what those are, don't you?"  
He rolls his eyes at me as they all move over a little so we can both sit down. As we do, her phone rings.  
"Hello. Yes. I know, but… Yes. Yes. I know, I won't be much longer.  
Ok. Bye."  
She hangs up her phone.  
"Sorry about that. Business call. So you all work with Sam?"  
"Yeah, but we usually end up doing all the work."  
"Hey!"  
"What, it's true. The assistants, like myself, end up doing all the dirty work and you all get the praise."  
"Donna, I told you I would work on Leo about getting you a raise, but that's all I can promise you."  
"That's all you ever promise me. Promises, promises, promises."  
We all roll our eyes at the banter that goes on between these two.  
"So Catherine. What line of work are you in?"  
"I'm a marketing consultant. Not a very glamorous line of work, but it pays the bills."  
"It's important what you do. Hey don't we need someone to help out with stuff? I mean, she already knows Sam, so if she can tolerate him  
now, she's got one up on us already."  
"Hey!"  
"Josh, I think that we should discuss these things in private."  
He quickly turns to Catherine.  
"Not saying that I don't think that Josh makes a VERY valid point, but there's procedure. I hope you know what I mean."  
She smiles and lowers her head.  
"Yes, Sir. I understand. Besides; I wouldn't be able to accept anything. I'm…"  
Her phone rings again, and as she takes it out of her pocket and looks at the number, she excuses herself from the table. We all nod as she gets up and walks away, yet my attention is focused on her as  
she's holding this conversation. I hear little bits and pieces, but her expressions that are catching my attention the most are a little disconcerting.  
"I'm sorry, I just lost track of time. I'll be there as soon as I can. Yes, I know. It's not that, it's just… I understand. Ok. Bye."  
With that, she folds her phone to end the call, and walks towards the table, picking up her coat and her briefcase. She lowers her head as she talks to us so fast I can hardly understand what she's saying.  
"I'm sorry, but I have to get going. It was really nice to meet you all."  
I immediately sense that something's wrong, so I bound up from the table and walk her to the door, all the while pulling my coat over my arms.  
"Catherine, what's the matter? Are you ok?"  
She doesn't turn to look at me as continues walking towards the door, and speaking to me in a worried tone.  
"I've got to go, Sam. Thanks."  
"Cath, do you need a ride?"  
"I've got a cab. I've really got to go, Sam."  
"You know where I work. Please call me."  
She opens the door to the cab that was waiting for her outside the bar, and without so much as a wave or a smile she closes the door and the cab drives away. I stand outside for a moment, watching the car  
drive off and I wonder. Maybe I'm just over-reacting. I mean, she's in Marketing, right? Maybe it's a crisis at work. I'll look up her number tomorrow at work and make sure that everything's ok. I suddenly feel a hand land on my shoulder with strength.  
"You ok?"  
"Yeah. I think so. Thanks, Josh."  
"No problem. We'll find her number tomorrow. Come back in; I'll buy the next round."  
I nod my head and slowly walk back into the bar, and as I take my coat off and sit back down, everyone knows that my mood has changed; for the worse. They're all looking at me with that `poor Sam' look on  
their faces.  
"What?"  
Again, the look.  
"Are we here to drink, or are we here to drink?"  
C.J. pipes up.  
"Who's buying this round?"  
"I think Josh said he was, didn't you?"  
I give him a good natured slap on the back which almost makes him blow beer out his nose.  
"Yeah. I think so."  
So we sit here, all nursing our own brand of wounds from the day, and I do my best to keep my spirits up. It's tough, but I think I've done ok. A few hours and a lot of alcohol later, we stagger to the door as  
the bartender is just about to throw us out. I lean my arm over C.J.'s shoulder.  
"You know, you're the best. If you weren't so damn tall…"  
"Hey. Watch it Spanky."  
"I'm sorry. You're like this hugely tall woman, and yet you insist on wearing heels. What's with that?"  
"It's the fashion statement. I can't wear this skirt and not wear heels, you know."  
I raise my finger to indicate I agree with her, and we all say our good-byes, well, good-mornings, and we head into cabs, and brace ourselves for the possibilities of substantial hangovers in the morning. I get to my place, hand the driver a bill of some sort; I really didn't look at it but he didn't tell me that it wasn't enough money, so I just got out and went inside. I fumble with the keys a little and finally get inside the door. I kick off my shoes, and throw my coat on the couch as I clumsily walk towards my bedroom. I pass the answering machine; no messages. That's weird. There's usually lots. Oh that's right. I checked them when I was at the place. That explains that. I don't even bother turning on the lights; I know where my bed is. Besides; that much light would just hurt me right about now. I step into the bed, literally, and fall face first onto my pillow. I open one eye and look at the clock. Oh god. 3:36. I have to be up in at 5:00. Oh god. I'm never going drinking with them again. Okay. Maybe just until the next time…

TBC...  
Feedback is just like crawling into a warm bed on a cold night...  
Absolutely Wonderful.


	2. Chapter 2

"Some Scars Don't Show...In Daylight" (Part 2/?)  
Disclaimers, etc. in Part 1...

Four days later, and still no word from her. The information from Josh helped, but still. No word. It's weird. I have this habit of running into people; sometimes quite literally, and then they seem to fall from the face of the earth. It's as if I have this curse on me and it's affecting my ability to make or retain friends. Josh knocks on my door and I look up to acknowledge him.  
"Hey buddy."  
"What's up?"  
"Well, Donna just handed this file to me and I think you should look it over."  
I accept the file from him and question him while I leaf through it.  
"What's this about?"  
"The bill. It seems that the NEA wants us to bump their grant allowance this year by another 15 million. It's not possible, seeing as we give them an astronomical amount already, but I just thought you should have a look at it."  
I look up at him.  
"You're giving me this because…"  
"Because, I thought…"  
"Never start a sentence with because, Josh. It's grammatically incorrect."  
"Whatever. Listen, I thought you might like to have a look at the proposal, because you know. You're all artsy fartsy."  
I try and fake outrage, but I can feel the workings of a smile creep up as I talk to him.  
"What the hell?"  
"You know. You know about all this stuff. About art and stuff like that. I know nothing."  
Donna walks by on her way to Margaret's desk.  
"You can say that again!"  
He turns abruptly to look at her.  
"You're SO fired."  
"I'm SO impervious."  
With that, she's out of our sight, and Josh turns to me again.  
"So. Any word yet? I hope that information helped."  
"Yeah, it did. However, there has been no word from her in the last four days. I don't know, Josh. I would have liked to see her again. You know, talk about old times. Maybe go for a bite to eat. Maybe all  
my life is going to be is…"  
My phone rings, and I pick it up.  
"Sam Seaborn. Yes. Yes. Of course. I'll be there in just a moment. Thank you, Sir."  
I hang up my phone and look at Josh.  
"Thanks for the warning."  
"Oh yeah. I thought you might also like to have a look at that file, because the President wants to talk to you about it in five minutes. Bye."  
He runs down the hall and I shake my head at him. That's Josh for ya. I put on my jacket and fix my tie as I grab the file from the desk and head towards the Oval Office. I really don't know what I'm going to say, seeing as I have only skimmed through the file, but I'm sure the President will understand. I'm gonna kill Josh for doing this to me. I hate being unprepared.

You know, working at the front desk of the Lobby of the White House is not a glamorous job by any stretch of the imagination. There are a few occasions when things get out of hand. Like the other day,  
when Mr. Lyman pissed off a Senator and, well. Let's just say words were exchanged right in front of my eyes. Aside from that, nothing major. I check ID, announce people, and that's about it. As I sit here looking at my computer screen, I sense someone standing in front of me. I look up and see a woman, who looks a little intimidated by her surroundings.  
"May I help you, Miss?"  
She starts to back away from my desk, and I notice her head is hanging down. I wonder why she's wearing sunglasses inside? Oh well, maybe she just forgot to take them off. A moment goes by, then a  
quiet voice speaks.  
"I'd like to... I'd like to see Mr. Seaborn if he has a moment please."  
"May I give him your name?"  
"Could you please tell him it's an old friend?"  
"I will have to clear you with security, Miss. I'll need your name."  
"He's been trying to get in touch with me for the past few days, and this is the first chance that I've had to speak to him. Must I really give you my name?"  
"I'm afraid so, Ma'am."  
"Cathy. My name is Cathy."  
"A last name?"  
"I really can't…"  
She looks up at me and I can see through her glasses the fear in her eyes. I think she's gonna be ok, security wise. I hope I'm not wrong. I stand up and as soon as I do she backs away from me a little more.  
"I'll show you the way, Miss. He's not answering his phone, but you can wait in his office if you'd like."  
"Would that be ok?"  
I smile. Something about this girl has endeared me to her.  
"Yes, Miss. That will be just fine. Follow me, please."  
She stoops down and picks up her small bag and follows me towards the Communications Bullpen. Toby sees her as he's walking down the hall. He stops for a moment, as if to reflect if he knows her from  
somewhere; tracing his memory bank for any clues. I guess he doesn't, so he continues on his way. We reach Sam's office, and I knock on the door.  
"He's not there, Mike. He should be back in about 15 minutes. He's with the President right now."  
"Thanks, Bonnie. This lady has a meeting with him. Could you please tell Sam that he has a visitor when he returns?"  
"I will. Thanks, Mike."  
"No problem. Here you are, Miss. I'll close the door for you."  
She mutters a very soft `thank you' and I close the door behind her. Bonnie looks at me with a questioning look, and I can only shrug my shoulders in response. I really don't know what it's all about, but I'm sure we'll find out soon.

"Bonnie, can you get me the most recent file for the NEA?"  
"Yeah. Oh Sam, there's someone in your office."  
I stop just as my hand is on the doorknob.  
"Really? I didn't think I had an appointment."  
"Well, you don't until 4:30. She just dropped in."  
"She?"  
"Yeah. She."  
"K. Thanks for the warning, Bonnie."  
"You're welcome. I'll get that file to you in a few minutes, I'll let you visit with your guest for a bit."  
I smile.  
"Have I told you lately how great you are?"  
She smiles.  
"No."  
"Well, you are."  
"Thank you, Sam. That's nice of you."  
"Well I mean it. You are."  
I smile and I enter my office. I see the back of who I just know is Catherine, so I close the door behind me. Her hair is down, and she is cautiously looking out the window. At the sound of the door closing, she turns around sharply.  
"Hey, Catherine! I've tried to call you, but there's been…"  
Her head is down as she speaks very quietly. Her hair is covering her face, and she seems very not-herself; very withdrawn and on edge.  
"I know, Sam. I just wanted to come by and tell you why I won't be around."  
"What? Where are you going to be? What's going on?"  
"Sam, I can't really answer any questions right now. I just wanted to come by and say thank you for a wonderful time the other day. It really was good to see you again, and to meet your friends here. You  
really have made something of yourself."  
"So have you, you know."  
She gaffs at my comment.  
"What? It's true. I don't know if I could be in marketing. It's too stressful."  
"And politics isn't?"  
I smile.  
"You've got me there. Where are you going?"  
"I don't know, Sam. I just have to get away. I just wanted to say thank you for everything. You made me realize something, and I just wanted to say thank you. So, thank you. I have to go now."  
She walks past me and picks up her bag, and as I do I gently grab her arm and she turns and looks at me with fear.  
"NO!"  
"My god. What's wrong?"  
"What are you talking about?"  
"Catherine. I can see it in your eyes. What happened?"  
She is starting to squirm and she's really nervous.  
"I really don't know what you're talking about, Sam. I just have to go."  
I pull her close to me, and I can feel her body tense up.  
"I really don't know what you're talking about, Sam. Please, let go of me."  
"Not until you tell me what's going on."  
"Sam, it's nothing. I just need to get away for a while."  
"Getting away where? Where are you going?"  
"Sam, please. Let go of me."  
"Come on, Catherine. I was never that easy to get rid of, even in high school."  
She starts to talk a little louder.  
"Sam, please."  
I let go of her arm, and sigh.  
"Ok, ok. When will I hear from you?"  
She bends down and picks up the handle on her bag as she talks.  
"I don't think you will. I just wanted…"  
Oh my god.  
"What the hell happened?"  
"What?"  
"Catherine, don't be coy. What happened? I can see that you're hurt."  
She tries to brush her hair in front of her face, but I'm not letting her do it. My hand reaches up and grasps hers, and as I grasp it, she winces.  
"Are you alright?"  
She speaks quietly.  
"I will be."  
I brush her hair away from the left side of her face, and see something that makes me physically ill. I'm stunned. This beautiful, strong woman, and… this.  
"My god."  
"Yeah. I'm a clutz. What are you gonna do."  
I try not to sound condescending, but it's really hard at this point.  
"Catherine. I'm a clutz. Even I don't do this when I fall."  
"Yeah, well fall wearing heels. You'll see."  
I reach my hand up to her face and grasp at the frame of her sunglasses. As I remove them, she tries to turn her head away, but I won't let her. I gasp at what I see when she finally turns to look at me.  
"Oh my god, Cath. What happened to you?"  
She looks directly back at me, and I see the fear in her eyes. I gently hold my left hand up to the right side of her face; the one that doesn't have a two inch gash under the jaw line; or an eye that's so multi-colored and puffy that she can't open it.  
"Catherine. It's me. Let me help you…"  
A solitary tear falls down from her right eye and as it does I feel in my gut the enormity of tears that are being prepared to shed.  
"Sam…"  
I gently draw her to me, and gently wrap my arms around her; wanting to comfort her and let her know she's sage. She stands wrapped in my arms, and I gently run my fingers through her hair.  
"Shhh… You're safe here. No one will ever hurt you again…"  
She mumbles something into my shoulder, but I couldn't really hear her. I lift her head up and look at her gently.  
"I'm sorry, but I didn't hear you."  
"I'm not safe here. I need to go."  
"You're not going anywhere."  
"But…"  
"No buts. If you thought I was stubborn in high school, you ain't seen nothin'."  
She makes the attempt to smile; and I think it's for my benefit. I look at her for a moment.  
"Has anyone, you know. Taken care of you?"  
She shakes her head in the negative response.  
"I've been to the hospital, but the doctors there don't do anything. They just send me on my way."  
"Well, someone is going to."  
"They won't do anything, Sam."  
"Well, this person will. Trust me. If you feel comfortable, have a seat for a moment."  
She slowly walks over to the couch and as she does, I reach for my phone and dial 5 numbers.  
"Yes, good afternoon, Nancy. Is he free? This is very important, and I must see him right away. Yes. I'll be there immediately. Thank you."  
I hang up the phone, and walk towards Catherine, who is shaking slightly. I extend my hand so she can reach for it.  
"Come with me for a minute."  
She looks panicked.  
"Where are we going? I can't go anywhere, it's not safe."  
I smile.  
"Trust me. Where we're going, you couldn't be anything BUT safe."

TBC...  
Let me know what you think!


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimers, etc. in Part 1

We walk down the halls of the White House, her walking cautiously behind me, while I have a gentle grasp of her hand. We reach Nancy's desk.  
"Good morning again, Sam. He's expecting you."  
"Thank you."  
I turn to Catherine.  
"You're gonna be ok."  
She just looks at me with tremendous fear in her eyes. I smile, lead her to the door, and I knock.  
"Come in."  
I open the door and lean in.  
"Good morning, Sir."  
"Sam. Nancy tells me that you needed to see me immediately. What's up? Is it the NEA thing?"  
I smile, still leaning inside the doorway.  
"No, Sir. It's nothing even remotely connected to that. It's more of a personal matter."  
He takes off his glasses and stands up from his desk.  
"Well what is it, Sam? How can I help you?"  
I smile, then turn back towards Catherine and speak softly to her.  
"Come on."  
She looks petrified.  
"Sam, I can't."  
"Why not?"  
"Sam, I can't meet the President looking as I do. It's just not right."  
I smile, and turn to face her directly.  
"Catherine. He won't say anything to you, except for words of concern. He's a great man, and will…"  
"Sam, are you coming in or not? I kind of have an important job, you know."  
I look at Catherine and she closes her eyes and sighs.  
"Yes, Sir."  
I take her hand again, and remaining directly behind me, she follows me into the Oval Office.  
"Sir, I'd like you to meet a friend of mine. Catherine Wilson, please meet President Bartlet."  
He walks over to us, and Catherine stands behind me still; she's afraid, and I don't really blame her.  
"Catherine. It's a pleasure to meet you."  
She speaks quietly.  
"Likewise, Sir."  
She whispers to me.  
"I've met him, can I go now?"  
I turn to whisper to her.  
"Not yet."  
The President walks up to us, and I can feel her start to shake a little due to her nervousness. He extends a hand to her, and she grasps it. When he grasps it, I can feel her tense up, but he shakes her hand, and smiles. I think he can sense her fear.  
"So how long have you known Sam?"  
"About 15 years, Sir."  
He smiles, re-assuring her that it's ok.  
"That's a long time. I've only known him for about five years, and I'm starting to get tired of him. I don't know how you've done it."  
She laughs, in spite of herself.  
"He's a very good friend, Sir. I don't know what I would do without him."  
He motions for us to have a seat on the couch, and she follows behind me. We sit on the couches, I on her right hand side, and the President sitting to her left in his chair. She lowers her head so her hair will hang in her face; not showing the bruising and scarring that is there. The President catches a slight glimpse of it and looks at me with a shocked look on his face. He mouths "Is she ok?" I shake my head in the negative. He mouths the words "Doctor?" I shake my head no again. He thinks for a moment, then mouths "Abbey?" I shake my head yes and mouth "Please, Sir." He smiles, then he proceeds to speak.  
"Well, Sam. I'm glad that you introduced me to Catherine. You know, I've been doing some research, and I've found that friends are the best thing for you. You know I've been through a rough few months,  
and if I didn't have Leo or Abbey, I don't know what I would have done."  
"May I ask you a question, Sir?"  
I look over at her, as does the President. He smiles.  
"Certainly. Please do."  
"I don't know how you do it. I mean, with everything that goes on in the world, how can you be so down to earth with people? I wouldn't be able to handle it, I know that for sure."  
"Well, my family is of utmost importance to me. They keep me grounded. You know what? I'd like for you to meet my wife. If that's ok with you, I'll give her a call and have her come down. She's just  
upstairs in the Residence now, going over some woman's thing that I don't really understand. I'll phone her and invite her down."  
As he gets up to use the phone to call the First Lady, Catherine turns to look at me, and gives me a look of panic. I smile at her.  
"It's ok, Catherine. You're gonna be fine."  
"Are you sure?"  
"Most definitely."  
I smile again, and she lowers her head again. I think I can see the trace outline of a smile on her lips. I grasp her hand again, and wait for the conversation on the phone to be completed. The President  
hangs up the phone and returns to where we are sitting.  
"She should be here any minute. Would you like a drink? I have ice water, coffee, scotch, bourbon. Take your pick."  
"Coffee would be great, Sir. Catherine?"  
She shakes her head and mouths the words `I'm fine.' I look up at the President and see a look of concern on his face that I have only seen once; when Josh was shot.  
"Ok. Coffee it is. Are you sure you wouldn't like anything, Catherine?"  
She nods her head.  
"Yes, Sir."  
As the President walks over to the table beside the wall, the First Lady walks in from the outside doors. I immediately stand up.  
"Good Morning, Ma'am."  
"Sam. How are you?"  
"Just fine, Ma'am. I'd like to introduce you to my friend, Catherine Wilson."  
I take great care in emphasizing her title as I introduce her to Catherine.  
"Catherine, please meet DOCTOR Bartlet, the First Lady."  
Catherine stands up to shake the First Lady's hand, and she smiles a bit at her.  
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Ma'am."  
"Likewise."  
Catherine's eyes are pointed towards the floor, and the First Lady sees the cut and the bruising on her face. She immediately kicks into Doctor mode, which is what I had hoped for all along.  
"Catherine, has anyone taken a look at this more closely?"  
She shakes her head, no.  
"Well, as Sam so brilliantly mentioned, I am a doctor. If you'd feel comfortable, I'll take you up to the Residence where we can be alone, and I can examine this for you, if you'd like."  
Catherine turns to look at me, and I think she knows she's been set up.  
"Sam…"  
I give her a re-assuring smile.  
"Cath, it's ok. You have the best doctor in the country in front of you. She's gonna make sure you're ok. I'll be right here if you need me."  
She turns the corners of her lips upward and mouths `Thank you' to me, and I smile and nod my head.  
"You're welcome."  
The First Lady looks over Catherine's shoulder at me.  
"Sam, I'll call you in your office when we're done, and I want you to come up to the Residence. I think she'll need to have a friend with her."  
"I'll be waiting for the call, Ma'am."  
Catherine looks at me again, and I walk towards her, and hold her hand. I look directly into her eyes.  
"You're gonna be fine. It might seem a little weird, you know, having the First Lady give you an exam, but she's a fantastic Doctor, Cath. She's gonna take good care of you, and probably give you some  
medicine for pain, and for infection stuff. I'll be right down here in my office. Whenever you need me, tell her. She'll call me and I'll be there before you can recite the Pledge of Allegiance. Okay?"  
I give her another smile, and she returns it. I kiss her on the forehead, and she turns to walk towards the First Lady, who is waiting by the door with an arm extended for her.  
"Sam, I'll call you the minute we're done, then I want you upstairs. Do you understand?"  
She smiles.  
"Yes, Ma'am. I certainly do. Thank you."  
"You're welcome, Sam."  
They leave the Oval Office and she has her arm wrapped gently around Catherine's shoulder. I stand there watching them walk down the walkway until they reach the outside door of the Residence. As soon as they enter, I breathe a sigh of relief. The President clears his throat and I immediately turn around.  
"Thank you, Sir. This means more to me than I think you realize."  
He smiles.  
"Sam, I know that you are always concerned for your friends. If there's ever anything I can do to help you, please tell me."  
I smile.  
"Thank you, Sir."  
"If there's nothing else…"  
"Not at the moment, Sir."  
"Good. Go back to work."  
"I will, Sir. Thank you again."  
"No problem. Any time, son."  
As soon as I open the door to the office and step out I hear his voice calling me from inside the office.  
"Sam, you'd better make sure you're in your office when Abbey calls."  
I smile.  
"I will, Sir. Thank you."

I'm in my office, sitting at my desk and reading over the file for the NEA proposals, when my phone rings.

"Sam Seaborn."  
"Hi Sam, it's Abbey."  
"Good afternoon, Ma'am. How is she?"  
"Well, I gave her a sedative, and she's been resting on the couch in the living room. Can you come up?"  
"Absolutely. I'll be right there."  
"Great. We'll see you soon."  
"Absolutely. Ma'am?"  
"Yes."  
"I can't tell you how much I appreciate you doing this for me. It means a great deal, and I know that Catherine appreciates it. She told me that she hadn't really had much luck with the hospital doctors before, and, well…"  
"Sam, I understand. I know what happened; she told me everything. We're going to have to sit down and have a discussion about this, but not right now. I think what is best for her is that she try and get  
herself grounded again, and when she's ready, then and only then will we bring the subject up. Ok?"  
"Absolutely. I'll be right there."  
"Great. We'll see you in a few minutes."  
"Thank you again, Ma'am."  
"It was my pleasure. She's a terrific woman. Very strong."  
"She is. Bye."  
"Bye, Sam."  
I fold up my file and place it on the side of my desk; I'll have to come back later to re-read it. I get up, turn off the lights in my office, grab my suit jacket and head towards the entrance to the Residence.

I'm greeted by the First Lady at the door.  
"Sam, thanks for getting here so quickly."  
I smile.  
"Well, I told you both that I would be here as fast as my legs could carry me, so here I am."  
She smiles back at me, and gives me a hug.  
"She's awake now, but she's still a little dozy. She's in the Living Room. Go on in."  
"Thank you, Ma'am."  
She smiles as I head to the Living Room, and knock lightly on the door.  
"Yes?"  
I open the door.  
"Hey there. It's me."  
She smiles.  
"Sam."  
I go over to the couch, and she attempts to stand up, but I wave her off.  
"Don't get up, Cath. Stay there; you need to rest."  
She smiles again.  
"Thanks. She really is a great lady, you know."  
"Yeah. She is, isn't she?"  
She takes another sip of her tea, and rests her head on the back of the couch.  
"Thank you."  
"For what?"  
"For this. I can't tell you how much I…"  
She starts to tear up, and I gently put my arm around her shoulders and give her a kiss on the top of the head.  
"Catherine. No thanks are needed. I'm just glad that you trusted me enough to come to me. I appreciate THAT."  
She turns to look at me, and she smiles.  
"Well, I'll accept your thanks, if you'll only accept mine."  
I smile.  
"Consider it done."  
There's a knock at the door.  
"Yes."  
The door opens, and it's the First Lady. She sees me start to stand and she waves me off.  
"Sam, in a personal situation, you don't have to stand when I come in the room, you know."  
I smile. That's the First Lady for you.  
"Thank you, Ma'am. I just didn't want the President to yell at me if I didn't make the attempt."  
"Yeah, he's a stubborn thing, isn't he?"  
"Ma'am?"  
She smiles at me, knowing that I really don't want to respond to that statement.  
"Ok. I'm not the First Lady right now. I'm Abbey. Remember that. I'll let you know when I switch back over."  
Catherine rests her head on my shoulder, and I run my hand along hers. She looks up at the First Lady.  
"Thank you, Ma'am."  
She laughs.  
"I guess the sedative is still working. Catherine, when I'm not being the First Lady, please call me Abbey."  
Catherine looks a little stunned.  
"Only if Sam will."  
I smile and look at her, then at the First Lady.  
"So, Abbey. What are your plans for the rest of the day?"  
She smiles, knowing what I'm doing; trying to get Catherine to feel more at ease with her in the room.  
"Well, I was planning on having an early night, but you know what?  
Now I feel like having company over for dinner. What are you two planning?"  
"Well, I was going to be going over the NEA file in my office tonight, but I think I can postpone that. Catherine, what do you say? Feel like having dinner here tonight?"  
She gets a bright smile on her face.  
"Really? I mean, that would be great. I mean, thank you very much, Ma'am."  
She looks at Catherine with the `you know better' look, and Catherine smiles.  
"I'm sorry. I would love to, Abbey."  
"That's much better."  
Catherine looks up at me.  
"Sam, I just called the First Lady Abbey. I feel liberated."  
We all share a laugh, then a voice makes it's way down the hall.  
"What's going on in here? Why are people telling jokes and not inviting me?"  
He walks into the room, and we stand up. Catherine stumbles a little, and I hold on to her. That was a really strong sedative.  
"It's ok, don't get up. Please sit down."  
Catherine smiles, and she sits back down, resting her head on my shoulder again.  
"Abbey, what are the plans for dinner tonight? I have a thing with Leo at 5:00, then Senior Staff at 6:00."  
"Well, Sam and Catherine are joining us for dinner. I was thinking around 8:00?"  
He smiles at her, then turns his attention to Catherine.  
"That sounds wonderful. I'm anxious to get to know you better, Catherine."  
"As am I, Sir."  
He grins and nods his head.  
"Good. I'm glad for that."  
He walks towards us, moves the magazines that were on the coffee table to the side, and sits on the table, directly in front of Catherine. He sees the tension behind her eyes, and takes a gentle hold of her hand. He smiles, and speaks gently to her.  
"Catherine, I want you to know something. I'm the President."  
She smiles.  
"I know that, Sir."  
He smiles back.  
"Good. I'm glad we got that settled. What I was going to say was, even though I'm the President, I'm also a person. My staff are like family to me, and any friends that they have are like an extension of that family. If you ever, and I mean EVER need anything, and you don't know where to turn. Please, don't hesitate to ask. Ok?"  
She smiles, and lowers her head.  
"Thank you, Sir."  
He smiles.  
"Good. I'm glad we got that settled."  
He goes to stand up, and places a gentle kiss on her forehead, then turns to the First Lady.  
"You know, she reminds me a little of Elizabeth."  
She turns her head, and nods.  
"Yeah. She does, a little."  
The President walks towards his wife and gives her a kiss on the cheek.  
"I have to go, but if you need anything…"  
"I know, Jed. I'll call you. Tell Leo I said hi."  
"I will."  
He turns towards us, and smiles.  
"Take good care of her, Samuel."  
"I will, Sir. I guarantee it."  
"Thank you, Sir. For everything."  
He smiles at her.  
"You're very welcome."  
He and the First Lady leave the room, giving us some privacy. We sit there, not really knowing what to say to each other. I mean, there's so much that needs to be said, but this isn't the right time, and  
definitely not the right place. About twenty minutes go by, and the silence finally gets broken.  
"Sam."  
"Yeah."  
"He hurt me. A lot."  
"I know, hun. I know."  
"What am I going to do?"  
"We're going to have a fantastic dinner with the President and First Lady tonight, and we can deal with the rest of the evening as it comes. Ok?"  
"Ok."  
She rests her head on my shoulder, and starts to cry. I wrap my arms around her, and she allows herself to be comforted. She lowers her head into my lap, and I run my fingers through her hair, rubbing her  
back gently. She stays there for about thirty minutes, and as she cries I hand her tissues as she needs them. It's not uncontrollable tears; I know that those are bound to come sometime, and I'll be there for her when she needs me.  
"Sam, I don't have anything to wear to dinner tonight."  
I can't help but smile.  
"Catherine. You're gonna be fine. Odds are that the First Lady will wear something casual, so what you have on is just perfect."  
"I mean, I don't have any other clothes. Just what little is in that bag, which is not much. I can't wear the same clothes day in and day out."  
I run my fingers along her back, trying to ease her mind.  
"Well, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it, ok? One step at a time."  
"Ok."  
"Ok."  
"Sam."  
"Yeah."  
She looks up at me and I see sincerity in her eyes.  
"I don't know why, but I trust you."  
I will hold back my tears. I will hold back my tears. I will hold back my tears.  
"I'm glad. I won't ever break that trust; I promise."

TBC...  
Feedback is great... just like the trust of a good friend...


	4. Chapter 4

Part 4  
"Good evening, Ma'am."  
"Sam, it's good to see you. I hope you're hungry because the chef's prepared a feast for us."  
"I'm sure whatever he's prepared will be delicious."  
"What's in the bags?"  
"Just a few things. You know, necessities."  
"Ah. For Catherine."  
"Yeah. She's gonna need some stuff, so after my thing on the hill, I did a little shopping. I hope she doesn't get mad at me."  
The First Lady puts a gentle hand on my arm as we walk down the hall.  
"I'm sure she will be grateful, but it looks like you bought out the store."  
I grin, knowing she's right.  
"Well, you're probably right about that, but I never do anything half-assed."  
She grins. Oh god. I can't believe I said half-assed in front of the First Lady.  
"I mean, half way. Yeah. Half way."  
She smiles as she responds.  
"It's okay, Sam. I'm not the First Lady right now. I'm Abbey."  
I smile. Thank god.  
"I just didn't know what she'd like, so I got a few different things."  
We enter a bedroom, and I put the bags down on the floor. The First Lady opens them and inspects my purchases.  
"Raspberry Mint bubble bath. Excellent choice. Papaya shampoo and conditioner. Sam, are you getting all girly on us?"  
She smirks, and I grin in response.  
"Well, Donna helped me out with those things. I didn't know what to get, so we went shopping together."  
She laughs.  
"She must have loved that; shopping with someone else's plastic."  
"Yeah. We had a blast. She's a great girl; Josh is very lucky."  
She smiles and I realize that I may have just said too much.  
"I'll let that comment slide; for now. Let's put these away. Actually; no. Let's let her open them. It might be good for her to have a good surprise for once."  
"Agreed."

We've finished eating our delicious dinner, and have retreated into the Living Room for coffee. The President has been asking questions about her life and career. Not specific questions, mind you, but  
general questions.  
"Yes, Sir. It's a demanding job, but I love a challenge."  
"I should think so, especially if Sam's your friend."  
I smile.  
"He really is great, Sir."  
I look across the table at him.  
"He's a true friend; in every sense of the word."  
He smiles and lowers his head.  
"Thank you."  
I smile at him.  
"You're welcome. I meant it."  
"So where will you be staying?"  
She thinks about this for a moment before responding.  
"You know, I hadn't really thought about that, Sir."  
"She can stay with me, Sir. That's no problem."  
She looks at me.  
"I couldn't impose, Sam."  
"You wouldn't be imposing. Trust me."  
She smiles, and the First Lady announces something.  
"Well, we have four guest rooms here. You're welcome to stay with us; we'd only be too happy to have you. I'll have a steward turn down a bed for you."  
She looks humbled by the offer.  
"Really, Ma'am. I couldn't."  
The First Lady gives her the look, the `don't call me Ma'am' look, and Catherine smiles.  
"Ok. Abbey."  
"Good! It'll be nice to have a different face around here for once!"  
She turns to me, and looks apprehensive.  
"Sam, I don't know."  
"Well, here's an idea. Sam, this isn't a request either. The room that I had planned for you has an adjoining room to it. Sam, you're going to stay in the one room, and Catherine in the other. It might  
be easier for her to have a familiar face near by. I will need you, Sam, to wake her at about 3:00 am, to take her medicine. It's the best to fight the infection if she has a boost of the meds in her bloodstream; it'll help her fight it off that way."  
I look at Catherine and smile.  
"That's no problem, Abbey. I'd be glad to help."  
She looks as though she's about to cry, and the First Lady gets a look of concern on her face.  
"Catherine, what's wrong? Are you in pain?"  
She smiles.  
"Oh, I'm ok. It's just that, well, you are all being so nice, and it's quite overwhelming. I'm just not used to it, that's all."  
I put my arm around her shoulder, and give her a kiss on the forehead.  
"Well, get used to it, cause it's not stopping."  
Everyone smiles and the First Lady adds her two cents.  
"Exactly. And if it ever does, he's got us to deal with."  
We laugh, then the President looks at his watch.  
"Well, on that note, I have an early morning. Feel free to stay here as long as you'd like. I've got some things to do before I go to bed, so I've got to get back to the office. Goodnight, and it was a pleasure to get to know you better this evening, Catherine."  
"Likewise, Sir. Goodnight."  
"You're welcome, dear."  
"Goodnight, Mr. President."  
"You too Sam. Come on, Abbey."  
He holds out his hand for her to grasp, and they leave the Living Room, allowing us to have some time alone. We watch the flames dance from the fire in the fireplace, casting a beautiful glow in the room. She curls up beside me, and yawns.  
"I'm sorry, Sam. I'm just a bit sleepy."  
"Well a sedative will do that to you, you know. Did you want to have a bath? The tub's really big."  
She smiles.  
"Ok. You convinced me."  
I smile.  
"Good. Go change into the robe in the other room, and I'll draw a bath for you."  
"You're the boss."  
She starts to get up, and I hold onto her arm.  
"Please don't ever say that I'm the boss. I'm your friend, and I don't ever want to be thought of as your boss. Ok?"  
She smiles.  
"Ok."  
"Good."  
We make our way to the bedroom, and I point to the cupboard.  
"Your robe's in there. I'll go run your bath."  
"Okay. Thanks."  
"No problem."

Wow. All I can say is wow. This is absolutely beautiful. I never knew that a bathroom could look this amazing. I see a sunk-in tub that's raised up a couple of steps; and several beautiful floral arrangements placed around the room. Sam has his back turned to me, and is just finishing lighting the candles that are placed on the shelves, counters and around the tub. I gasp at the beauty that I see, and he turns to face me. He smiles, and I return it.  
"Wow. You really didn't have to do all this."  
"Well, I have to admit that I had a little help from Donna in selecting the scents of the bubble bath and stuff. However, the candles were my idea. I light some when I'm stressed out, and I thought you might like them."  
"I do. This really is beautiful, Sam."  
I look at him with a look of wonder on my face.  
"You really did all this yourself?"  
He smiles at me with the grin of a little boy.  
"Well, I thought that this would be conducive to relaxation."  
"You certainly are a writer, aren't you? This is really beautiful."  
"Well, I'll leave you to your bath. If you need me, just yell. I'll be right through that door."  
"Okay. Thanks."  
"You're welcome."

I hear the quiet sounds of NPR coming from my alarm clock. I sit up, and look at the clock before actually realizing where I am. 2:45 am? What the hell am I doing up at 2:45 am? I sit up in bed, and rub my eyes in an attempt to wake myself up. I open my eyes again, and see the bottle of pills on the table. That's right. I have to give Catherine her pills at 3:00. I smile as I remember what it is I have to do and pull back the blankets. I slip my feet into the slippers provided me by the President, and throw the robe over my  
shoulders. Grasping her bottle of meds in one hand and a glass of water in the other, I knock quietly at the door to her room. There's no answer. Of course there's no answer, Seaborn. She's sleeping; as most normal people would be at 3:00 in the morning. I slip the bottle into my pocket and turn the door knob, entering her room. I let my eyes adjust to the darkness, and expect to see her sprawled out in the huge bed that she is in, but I don't. I see her on the edge of the left side of the bed, curled up in a little ball. Her back is facing me, and I can't tell if she's awake or not. I decide to speak quietly.  
"Catherine."  
No response.  
"Catherine, it's Sam. You've got to wake up."  
Still no response. I approach her side of the bed cautiously, and I can see the freshly made tear marks on her pillow. I kneel down beside her, and gently run my hands along her hair and speak in what I hope is a soothing voice.  
"Catherine, it's Sam. You have to wake up to take your medicine."  
She starts to open her eyes, and as soon as she looks at me, she panics which is quite understandable. I look directly at her, and again, speak softly.  
"Catherine, it's me. It's ok. I just came in to give you your medicine."  
I tilt my head to the side so I can look directly into her eyes.  
"Are you ok?"  
She still doesn't respond.  
"You're going to be ok. Trust me on that."  
She starts to shake her head, and as she does it becomes more urgent.  
"What's wrong?"  
"No. No. Please. No."  
Oh god. She's having a nightmare. The bastard got into her dreams; the only safe place she has. I think the only thing for me to do is to be calm and not freak her out any more.  
"Catherine, it's Sam. I'm not going to hurt you."  
"No. Please, no."  
It's painful to see her like this. She's tense, curled up in a tighter ball than she was when I got in here, and she's shaking her head almost violently, yet her eyes are still wide open.  
"Catherine, it's ok. You're ok. You need to wake up."  
I stand up and sit on the edge of the bed and I place my hand on her shoulder. As soon as I do, she closes her eyes, and contracts all the muscles in her body and winces. Oh god, I'm an idiot. I just  
helped her nightmare along. God, Sam. You really are dumb. Think damn it, think.  
"Catherine, please wake up."  
She relaxes her muscles slowly starts to open her eyes.  
"Catherine. It's Sam. Are you ok?"  
She gets a little scared and starts to shake. As soon as she recognizes me, she starts to cry.  
"Oh god, Sam. It was awful. Just awful."  
I hold out my arms for her, and she surrenders herself into them. I gently wrap my arms around her, soothing her and wanting to make this bad dream go away.  
"Catherine, it was just a dream. You're safe. You're going to be ok."  
She speaks to me in between sniffles.  
"Sam. Weren't you supposed to give me my pills?"  
I smile. I can see that she doesn't want to talk about it, and that's fine by me. When she's ready, and not a minute before. I reach for the glass of water and pull the bottle out of my pocket, retrieving one of the pills she needs to take.  
"I sure was. Here you go. This one is for the infection, and this one is for pain."  
She takes the pills from me and takes them in one shot with a big gulp of water. She sighs, and hands me the glass.  
"Thanks."  
"Anytime. Let's get you tucked back in here. Ok?"  
"Sam, I don't think that I'm all that tired."  
"Well, those pills are going to make you a little sleepy. You want to be comfortable, don't you?"  
She smiles a little.  
"Well, yes. But I'm not that tired. I should just read or something."  
"Absolutely not! I think that the First Lady would have serious issue with that, and with me if I let you!"  
"Ok. You're the boss."  
"Catherine, I told you to never call me that. Remember?"  
"Yes, I remember."  
"Good. So. You're going to get all cozy under the duvet, and have a peaceful sleep. Ok?"  
"Um. Sam?"  
She looks up at me and I look back at her.  
"Yeah."  
"Um. This might seem a little, you know; strange. But I was wondering if you wouldn't mind, you know, staying here with me? I mean, if I were to actually sleep and dream that again, I would want to be woken up. Would you wake me up?"  
I smile.  
"Sure. I'll be right over here if you need me."  
"Sam, you can stay here. That is, if you want. If you'd rather stay in the chair I understand, but this is more comfortable than…"  
I lean over the bed and pull the blankets back so I can get in. I lean against the headboard, and prop myself up with pillows. I hold out my arm for Catherine and she just looks at me with a peculiar look on her face.  
"Come on. Snuggle up, it's ok."  
"Really? I mean, he would never want to…"  
"Catherine. I don't want to hear about him. This is you and me, and if you feel uncomfortable, then that's one thing. But I don't want to…"  
"No, it's not that I'm uncomfortable. It's just that he would never hold me."  
"Ever?"  
"Ever."  
I'm shocked. If I didn't already know it, this guy is truly an asshole.  
"At the risk of sounding rude, but even after…you know."  
"Yeah. Even after… you know."  
"Come `ere."  
The room is dark, but I can sense her smile as she inches her way towards me. I feel her head close to my shoulder and I draw her closer to me. I wrap my other arm around her, and hold her tightly. Not so tight to hurt her, but the embrace that says `you're safe'. She cautiously puts her right arm across my chest, and when she finds the comfortable position, she lets out a sigh. I feel a drop of what I know to be tears on my chest, and I reach for the tissue box. I think it's going to be a long night…  
****

I turn my head to the right, and see the sleeping form beside me. Her eyes are puffy. It's not from the hands of the ass... well. The one eye is, but they're both puffy from her tears. She shed a lot last night while we were here and twice I had to go find more tissues. I gotta talk to the President about having more Presidential tissues in the residence. Yeah. That'll happen. She starts to squirm a little, edging her body a little closer to mine. I can't help but smile. This girl; correction. This woman, who has never really been held is warming up to me. This is a good thing; a very good thing. I gently pull her a little closer to me, and she lets out a sigh. I hope it was a contented one. She slowly starts to open her eyes and as she does she lifts her head up and looks at me and I smile one of my brightest smiles.  
"Good morning."  
I stroke her hair, and she smiles a sleepy smile.  
"Hey."  
"Did you sleep well?"  
"Only the best few hours in my life. Honestly."  
I smile and kiss her on the top of the head. Oh yeah, who da man?  
"Good. I'm very glad about that."  
"What time is it, Sam?"  
I look over at the clock on the bedside table.  
"It's 6:43, to be exact."  
"Aren't you always?"  
"Do I detect sarcasm there, Miss Wilson?"  
She laughs.  
"Me? Sarcastic? Never."  
I pull her close for a hug, and she allows it. I've decided over the past few hours that if she shies away from me that I will not take it personally. She's been through a lot, and it will take some time for  
her to heal her wounds.  
"Cath. I hate to have to do this, but I need to get going."  
She rolls over to her side of the bed as she speaks.  
"It's ok, Sam. I understand. The country doesn't run by itself, you know. Someone has to write the great speeches…"  
I laugh.  
"Ok, ok. I get the point. All I ask is…"  
There's a quiet knock at the door and I look at Catherine as she pulls the duvet up to her chin. I take hold of her hand and whisper.  
"It's gonna be ok. Don't worry."  
She smiles and quietly calls out.  
"Come in."  
The bedroom door opens, and in walks the First Lady. When she sees me here, she gets a unique look on her face. I'd say it was pure curiosity, but I sense that she's not going to press the issue.  
"Good morning. I hope I didn't wake you both."  
"Not at all, Ma'am. Good morning."  
"Catherine. What's my name?"  
That draws a laugh.  
"Doctor Abigail Bartlet, the First Lady of the United States."  
The First Lady rolls her eyes as she grins.  
"Very funny. My name is Abbey."  
"But you can't have one without the other, Ma'am. I mean, Abbey."  
"That's much better. Please, I don't want to have to ask all the time. For as long as you stay here, unless of course there's an official function where everyone is calling me Ma'am, please call me Abbey. Alright Catherine?"  
"As you wish, Ma… Abbey."  
"We're going to be having breakfast in the dining room in about 30 minutes. Would you two care to join us?"  
I turn to look at Catherine and she looks up at me with a faint glimmer of excitement in her eyes.  
"I think that would be lovely. Don't you?"  
"I do, Sam. I'm actually kinda hungry."  
The First Lady looks pleased with that remark. It's the Doctor in her that's coming out right now, I can tell.  
"Good. You didn't eat much last night, so I'm glad that your appetite has returned. The chef is preparing some lovely things for us, so get your appetites ready. I'll see you there in about 30 minutes."  
As she leaves the bedroom we say thank you, and we begin to get ready for breakfast. Catherine walks to the closet, and she opens the door. She suddenly starts to cry. I go to her side as fast as I can and place my arm on her shoulder.  
"Catherine. What's wrong?"  
She speaks in between sniffles.  
"I have nothing to wear. God. You'd think after everything that's gone on that I wouldn't be concerned about this, Sam."  
I smile, and I can't help but laugh. She turns and looks at me, with a very frustrated look on her face.  
"Sam, it's not funny. I'm going to breakfast with the President and First Lady of the United States of America. All I have to wear is this dumb suit that I wore yesterday. Look at this. There's mascara  
streaks on the blouse, which won't ever come off now. How can I wear this?"  
I pull her close for another hug, and I smile.  
"Don't worry. I have a plan."  
"Oh yeah? What? Do you have some miracle cleaner that will take this off, dry it and have it looking better than yesterday in less than 30 minutes?"  
"Nope, something better. I'll be right back."  
She wipes her eyes with her hand and nods as I leave the room. A few moments later I knock on the door.  
"Sam?"  
"Yeah."  
"Come in."  
I open the door and find her sitting in the chair by the window. She turns to look at me, and she starts to cry.  
"Catherine, haven't they dried up yet?"  
She shakes her head at me.  
"Well, I have just the thing for you. Remember when I told you that I went shopping with Donna yesterday?"  
"Yeah."  
"Well, we went to a couple of different stores. I saw this in one of them, and I just couldn't help myself. I hope you don't mind."  
"You hope I don't mind what?"  
"Well…"  
I take my hands out from behind my back, and she sees the garment bag that I have been hiding. I unfold it and place it neatly on the bed. She stands up and cautiously walks over as I unzip the front.  
She's tense, so I try some inane chatter to help ease that away.  
"See, Donna loves to shop. Especially when she's using someone else's credit card. So, when we were at the mall, she wanted to stop and buy this pair of pants that she loved. I kinda had to tell her a little about why I was shopping for, you know, girly stuff. So, when she was in this store I saw something in there that I just knew you would like. Or at least, I hope you like. I didn't know what size you would be, but you're about Donna's size, so I asked her and she helped me out with sizes and stuff like that. Catherine? What's wrong? Don't you like it?"  
She looks up at me and the tears are gently falling from her eyes.  
"Sam, this is the most wonderful… I don't know how to thank you. I can't believe you did all this. For me."  
I smile. I'm glad she's happy.  
"Well, I like shopping, believe it or not. I'm one of the few men in this world that do. Or so I've been told."  
She takes the dress out of the bag and holds it up to her. She walks in front of the mirror and admires it.  
"Sam, it's just beautiful. I love it. Yellow is one of my favorite colors, and the flowers in the fabric are just beautiful."  
"I'm so pleased."  
"I have one question."  
"Ask away."  
"This is a short sleeved dress. Do you have a sweater or something I could borrow to put over it?"  
"It's beautiful outside. You need a sweater?"  
She turns and looks at me, lowering her eyes as she does.  
"Sam. I know the First Lady saw, but I guess you didn't see them…"  
I close my eyes and nod my head. I know what she means.  
"That's no problem. I have a sweater in my office downstairs. I'll go grab it for you before we go to breakfast. Ok?"  
She smiles.  
"Thanks, Sam. I truly mean that."  
I run my finger along the right side of her face.  
"You're very welcome. I just want you to be ok, and to realize that there are people out there who care about you."  
"I do realize that, Sam. It's just gonna take some time to get used to. It's been a while, you know."  
I smile.  
"I know. I'm not in a rush, don't worry about me. I'll head down and grab that out of the office. I'll be back in a few minutes."  
"Ok."

"Sam. How's the thing coming with the NEA?"  
I look up from my desk, and see Josh standing in the doorway.  
"Why does it matter so much to you?"  
"It doesn't. Seriously. It's just that Donna…"  
I smile and nod my head.  
"Enough said. I completely understand. Say, what are you and Donna doing tonight?"  
"I'm probably going home, as is she. Why?"  
"Well, I was going to make a suggestion to Catherine, and I wanted to run it by you first."  
"Shoot."  
He sits in my visitor's chair with a thud, and I think I'm about to witness a miracle. Josh Lyman is about to listen.  
"Well, it's like this. I told you all about what happened yesterday. Well, I wanted to do something nice for her. Something that would get her out of the Residence, where I know she feels like an intruder, but still let her feel safe. Would you and Donna be up for a nice dinner here tonight?"  
"Where?"  
"Well, this is where I would need Donna's help."  
He puts his hand up and stops my train of thought. He turns his head towards my door and yells.  
"DONNA!"  
I hear her voice yell back from down the hall.  
"WHAT?"  
"COME HERE A MINUTE!"  
"HANG ON!"  
She walks into sight and heads toward my office.  
"Hey, Sam."  
"Hey, Donna. Listen. I have an idea, and I was wondering if I could enlist your help."  
"What am I getting myself into here?"  
"Oh, it has nothing to do with fixing something Josh screwed up, if that's what you're concerned with."  
"Good, because I do that all the time."  
"You two know that I'm sitting right here, don't you?"  
"Of course we do. Do you think that we only do this behind your back?"  
"You're fired."  
"Impervious. Now, what do you need my help with, Sam?"  
She squishes into the chair that Josh is sitting in, and he just moves over a little. They have a habit of doing this, and we're all wondering when they're just gonna wake up and smell the coffee. I look at both of them as I reveal my plans for the evening.

"I appreciate that, Abbey. You know, I have to admit that I'm still a little apprehensive about calling you that."  
She smiles at me.  
"Well, everyone is. I mean, I can understand that. My husband is the most powerful man in the free world, and if I were in anyone else's shoes, I would…"  
A knock at the door disturbs our conversation, and the First Lady speaks.  
"Come in."  
"I'm sorry to interrupt, Ma'am. But Donna Moss is here."  
The First Lady looks at me to non-verbally ask if this is ok. I smile and nod my head to let her know it is.  
"Thank you, Lily. Please send her in."  
"Thank you, Ma'am."  
Lily holds the door open and Donna walks in.  
"Good afternoon, Ma'am. Hi Catherine."  
"Donna, I'm not the First Lady right now. I'm Abbey, ok?"  
"Certainly."  
She looks at me with a smile.  
"How are you doing?"  
"I'm ok. All things considered, I'm fantastic. How are you doing? I'm sorry I didn't get much of a chance to get to know you better earlier. But…" I make a motion to the left side of my face and smirk "…some things just had to happen."  
Donna sits right beside me and takes my right hand in hers.  
"Catherine. I want to tell you this, and I mean this with all the sincerity in my body, so hear me out, ok? What you're referring to didn't HAVE to happen. But, it did and it has to be dealt with. If you ever need to talk to anyone about anything and you don't know where to turn, remember this. When Josh was shot he dealt with a lot of things. He dealt with the pain, the anxiety, but most of all he had to deal with his mind. Which, as anyone that works in this building will tell you, that in itself is a scary subject."  
I smile as the First Lady nods in agreement with Donna.  
"I don't mean to toot my own horn, but I like to think that I had a small part in his recovery. Though I don't profess to be a counselor or anything, I have two ears, and two shoulders. Despite the fact that I don't ever bring him any, I do make a wicked cup of coffee. So, if you ever need me, just yell. That's what everyone does around here, ok?"  
I wipe the tears that are forming in my eyes away with the back of my hand, and I just nod my head.  
"Good. Listen. I have an idea. Would you feel comfortable getting some dinner?"  
I can feel my heartbeat race inside my chest.  
"I don't know, Donna. I mean, what if we run into him? I don't want him to know where I am right now. I have a feeling that he does know, but I just don't want to risk it."  
"Well, we have a fantastic restaurant downstairs. They'll make anything we want to eat, and we can yak about girl stuff all night if you want. It'll kinda be like a pyjama party. No pyjamas, and no curlers in my hair of course."  
The three of us share a laugh.  
"You know, that might be kinda nice. Do you think that Sam would join us? Not that I don't feel comfortable with just you, but, he's been there for me from the beginning, and I just feel safer…"  
She smiles and nods her head.  
"It was Sam's idea, actually. I just thought…"  
"Donna, how about this. Of course, this is if Catherine agrees to it."  
"What's your idea?"  
"Well, Jed and I have a thing to go to tonight, so our staff is on light duties. How about I talk to one of the chefs today, and see what they can come up with for you? The Mess is usually cleared out by about 6, so if I tell them to have a delicious dinner ready about 7:30, that should give them enough time. Don't you think?"  
Donna looks at me and I smile.  
"That would be lovely. I hate to admit it, but I actually am starting to like all this nice attention."  
"So you should. Sam's a wonderful guy, and holds his friends in the highest of esteem. Josh, although his ego is seriously over inflated, is a sweet guy. You know, he actually had the President call my favorite teacher a couple of weeks ago, just because she was retiring?"  
"He did that? He never told me."  
"Well, needless to say, I was completely touched that he took the time to call her. She was so special. Catherine, you'll find that the men that work in this building are, for the most part, absolutely wonderful people. There are those that you are just acquaintances with, but as far as the Senior Staff go, they're all fantastic people. Very genuine and compassionate."  
"I couldn't agree more, Donna. Very well said."  
"Thank you, Abbey."  
"Well, I think you've done a good job of convincing me, Donna. Thank you. It might be nice to see the building, and I don't think I could get a better tour guide than the staff."  
The First Lady stands up.  
"Well, I have to be going. Donna, if she feels comfortable, take her for a tour. I'm sure she'd enjoy it."  
"Catherine?"  
"May I finish my tea first?"  
They both smile and the First Lady nods her head.  
"Certainly. Have as much as you like. You too, Donna. I have to get going to get ready for a meeting. Have a good day, ladies."  
"You too, Abbey."  
I smile.  
"Thank you. You too."

After an excruciatingly long day running the country, Josh and I are sitting in my office discussing the latest demands from the NEA.  
"This is unreal. I mean, I don't really understand how they can ask that. It's just crazy."  
"Tell me about it. That's why I passed it on to you, buddy."  
I look up and roll my eyes at him.  
"And I appreciate that more than you could…"  
There's a quiet knock at my office door.  
"Come in."  
The doorknob turns, and I see Donna walk in with Catherine directly behind her. As they walk in, we both stand up.  
"Oh my god. I don't believe that you stood up when I walked into the room, Josh."  
"Get over it, Donna. I have to make a good impression, you know."  
She gives him a look, and he steps cautiously away from her.  
"Just you wait…"  
"Henry Higgins. Just you wait."  
They both turn and look at me with the `what the hell' look on their faces. I'm about to answer, but Catherine responds for me.  
"It's from the musical `My Fair Lady'. Do you remember when that was running at school, Sam?"  
I smile. I think she's a little more at ease tonight than last.  
"I certainly do. You were a fantastic Mrs. Pierce."  
She smiles and shakes her head at me.  
"Well, you were quite the Professor Higgins."  
Donna tilts her head to the side and looks at me.  
"Really!"  
I smile and look at Catherine.  
"Thanks. I'll never live that down, now."  
"Well, all sorts of high school trivia aside, Catherine and I were wondering if you two would like to join us for dinner."  
"Josh?"  
"Sounds good. Where we goin' ?"  
Donna smiles.  
"Trust me. We've had some help, and it's going to be lovely. Isn't it?"  
Catherine smiles and nods her head.  
"Well, ladies. Lead the way."

Feedback is lovely – like a special dinner at the White House.


	5. Chapter 5

We're sitting at a table in the Mess, having just finished our dinner. Catherine has really warmed up to Josh and Donna, which is a very good thing. I think it will be good for her to have some friends close by, just in case she needs them. Donna's such a great girl anyway, and I have a feeling that she already talked to Catherine about hanging out together if she felt comfortable doing so. It's just something that she would do.  
"As far as that goes, Josh. I don't think that it's all that necessary."  
"Why?"  
"Well, I'm meeting with them tomorrow, and you don't have to call tonight. Besides, it's late and I'm sure that the last thing they want to do is to hear you yelling at them just before they go to bed."  
"But Sam…"  
"No buts. Don't bother. Let me deal with it tomorrow."  
"Oh for the love of God. Can we please talk about something other than work?"  
Josh and I both look at Donna and we reply at the same time.  
"Yes, mother."  
She tilts her head to the side and rolls her eyes.  
"Honestly. I don't know what I'm going to do with you two."  
I look at Josh and smile.  
"I feel so loved."  
He smiles back.  
"You don't deal with that every day."  
"Deal with what?"  
"Nothing, dear."  
Dear? Did he just call Donna dear? I have to investigate that some more later.  
"So Catherine. What do you say to some shopping tomorrow?"  
She looks at Donna with a little reservation on her face.  
"He'll actually let you away from the office for that?"  
"I control his schedule. I run his life, so I can treat myself to time away when I need to. What do you say?"  
I take my wallet out of my jacket pocket and start to look through it.  
"I don't know, Donna…"  
I hold out my hand to Catherine and smile.  
"Here you go. Have fun."  
"What is this?"  
"Catherine, he's handing you plastic. Go nuts!"  
We all laugh at Donna, who obviously knows how to milk the situation full tilt. Catherine looks at me with unsure eyes and speaks softly.  
"Are you sure?"  
I smile.  
"I wouldn't make the offer if I wasn't. Have a great time. Get some nice stuff."  
Donna turns and casts a look at Josh.  
"Josh…"  
"What?"  
"Isn't there something that you want to give me?"  
"I can't give you a raise, Donna. You know that."  
She rolls her eyes.  
"I've heard that a thousand times before, it's like a broken record. I mean, isn't there something else that you want to give me?"  
"Like what?"  
"JOSH!"  
He smiles, shakes his head and takes out his card.  
"You know the limit, and I don't want to get a bill that's anywhere near it, ok?"  
She throws her arms around him and gives him a kiss on the cheek.  
"You're the best."  
"Don't forget it either."  
My cell phone rings and I answer it. As I talk, everyone is quiet when they realize who I'm talking to.  
"Sam Seaborn. Good Evening, Sir. Yes, dinner was lovely, Sir. Yours? Excellent. I'm glad for that, Sir. Yes, it's at 8:30 on Friday, right? Yes, Sir. Yes, Sir. She's here right now, so I can ask her if you'd like. Certainly. Just a moment, Sir. You want to talk to Josh too? He's here as well. Just a moment, Sir."  
I hand the phone to Josh, and extend my hand to Catherine, leading her away from the table for a moment.  
"Sam, what's going on?"  
I smile.  
"Well, I'm not sure if you were aware of this, but the head of the Department of Education is retiring at the end of this month."  
"Yes, I read about that last week in the paper."  
I smile.  
"Good. Well, we're holding a Dinner in her honor this Friday, and although the guest list is finalized, the President would like to make an addition to that list."  
She gets a curious look on her face.  
"Ok. Why are you telling me this?"  
"Because, he'd like to invite you. As his special guest."  
She gets a look on her face that I can't quite describe. I think it's a mixture of fear, excitement and curiosity.  
"Sam, do you think that…"  
"Catherine. That's why I pulled you away from the table to ask you this. If you don't feel ready to go to something like this, then that's fine. He understands, and told me that you are under no obligation to accept. However, he did tell me that if you do choose to attend, he would make sure that, for your protection and peace of mind, that he would not tell anyone. With the exception of Leo and the First Lady."  
She thinks for a minute, then looks up at me with a questioning look on her face.  
"Will there be a lot of security there? You know, Secret Service people?"  
I can't help but smile at her simple question. She's becoming more precious with each passing day.  
"Absolutely. Anywhere that the President is, there's always plenty of security."  
She gets a look of fear behind her eyes, and I try and calm her nerves.  
"Catherine, it's going to be ok. Donna and Josh will be there, and I'll be right there beside you, so you have nothing to worry about. Ok?"  
She nods her head and asks another question.  
"Is it formal?"  
I nod my head in response.  
"Yes. We're all wearing our tuxes."  
She nods her head, and thinks a little more. She looks up at me again, and smiles apprehensively at me.  
"So, when Donna and I go shopping, I can get a dress that's appropriate to wear?"  
"So you're saying…"  
"I will be there, at the pleasure of the President."  
I smile, and hold out my arms to give her a hug, which she readily accepts.  
"Good. He's gonna be so pleased. I know I'm thrilled."  
"I have to tell you that I'm a little nervous about this, Sam."  
"Catherine. You're going to be just fine. There's nothing to worry about. We're all going to be there, and you'll be just fine. I promise you that. Let's get back to the table, and enjoy our desert. Ok?"  
"Sounds wonderful."  
I put my hand on the small of her back to escort her to the table. She flinches and looks at me when my hand first makes contact. I take my hand away, but she smiles, takes hold of my hand, and returns it to it's former place. I can just feel the Cheshire cat grin starting to show on my face. As we reach the table I hold out her seat for her as I lean towards Josh and take the phone away from him.  
"Sir? It's a go. Yes, Sir. I'm thrilled. Excellent. You too, Sir. Absolutely. Good night, Sir."  
I fold up my phone and sit in my chair. Josh and Donna look at me with strange looks on their faces.  
"What?"  
"What's going on?"  
"Nothing. Don't worry about it."  
I feel a hand placed gently on top of mine. I look and see Catherine smiling at me.  
"It's ok, Sam. I think it would be good if they knew."  
I smile back at her.  
"Ok. Well, it seems that there's another guest on the list for the Dinner on Friday."  
"Really? Who?"  
"The President has asked that Catherine join us, and she has accepted the invitation."  
Donna is beaming.  
"That's wonderful! We're going to have such a good time."  
Catherine smiles at her.  
"I hope so."  
"I KNOW so. OOH! This means we can go out and get our hair done, buy fancy dresses, and new shoes. Oh my god, we're going to have so much fun."  
She turns to look at Josh.  
"I'm taking the day off on Friday."  
"WHAT?"  
"I don't think you're deaf. I said…"  
"I know what you said, but I don't know if I can get through the day…"  
Donna smiles at him, leans into his ear and whispers something. He nods his head, after a few `But Donna's', and he smiles.  
"Have a good time on Friday, ladies. Don't max my credit card."  
I can't believe this.  
"I don't believe that you are letting her take the day off."  
"Yeah, well. I'm a nice guy. What are you gonna do?"  
Donna moves her chair over beside Catherine and the ladies begin talking.  
"So. I know this great place that we can shop for dresses. If you want, seeing as I have been given the title of "Detail and Organization Queen" from Deputy Downer over there, I can do some investigating and figure out where we can go. That's up to you."  
Catherine smiles.  
"Sure. I mean, if you want to."  
Donna smiles and places her hand gently on Catherine's arm.

"Good! I'm glad this is settled. Josh hasn't let me have a day off in I don't know how long. This is going to be so much fun. We'll go shopping first, because we can't get our hair and stuff done without knowing what our dresses are going to look like. Then we'll go somewhere and have lunch. Maybe we'll go to the Georgetowne Station. That's the bar that we all hang out in when we've had rough days around here, and trust me. They have the best chicken Caesar salad there; it's amazing. Then we can go to the spa and have the works. Catherine, leave all the details to me, and I guarantee you a fantastic day. Ok?"  
I can't help but be impressed at the connection that these two ladies have made. It's fantastic. Catherine smiles at Donna, and agrees to let her plan the day. I can't help but smile as I talk to them.  
"Well, I think now that our cards have already reached the limits before they have even been used, I think we should call it a night."  
"Sure. It has been so much fun tonight, Catherine. I mean it."  
"Thank you, Donna. This was such a wonderful night. I'm looking forward to Friday."  
Donna stands up as Catherine does, and gives her a hug.  
"Good. I'm so pleased. Don't you worry about a thing; I'm on top of it. Ok?"  
"You got it. Thank you."  
"You're welcome."  
"Donna and I have to head upstairs and finish up the thing. Sam, are you coming?"  
"I will in a bit. I want to make sure that she gets upstairs and gets settled in first. I'll be there soon."  
"Ok. We'll see you in a bit. It was a blast tonight."  
"Ok."  
"Good night, Josh."  
Josh holds out his hand, and Catherine takes it. As she does, he turns it over, and places a gentle kiss on the top. Catherine smiles.  
"It was a pleasure, Ma'am."  
"Thank you. It certainly was."  
Josh and Donna head out the door towards the office, as Catherine and I walk up the steps towards the Residence door. I have my hand on her back, as she has allowed me to do so, and we are slowly making  
our way to our temporary `home'.  
"Sam, I don't know how much longer I can do this."  
Oh god. What's going on?  
"What do you mean? Are you ok?"  
She looks at me and smiles.  
"I'm just fine. I mean, I have to start looking for my own place soon. I can't live in the Residence forever, you know."  
I smile and nod my head. After a moment, I decide something.  
"Catherine, what about this. Keep in mind that this is only if you feel comfortable, ok?"  
"Ok."  
"Come and live at my place."  
She turns her head abruptly and looks at me with reservation.  
"Sam, I don't think…"  
"Catherine. That's the only way that I can know that you're ok, and I think it's the only way that you can feel secure; other than staying here that is."  
"True."  
"Well, why don't we plan on this. On Thursday after work, I'll come up and get you. We'll drive over to my place, and I'll have the spare room all ready for you. I'm sure that Josh and Donna would come over. We'll have pizza or Chinese or something like that. Just so you know that you're safe there, and that your friends are only a phone call away. Ok?"  
We've just reached the door of the Residence, and she has stopped walking up the steps, and is starting to cry. I gently place my hand on her arm.  
"What's wrong?"  
She looks up at me, and I wipe the tears away from her eyes with my finger as she talks.  
"I really don't know what I would do without you. How could you be willing to put your life on hold for someone like me? I just don't get it."  
I can't help but smile.  
"Catherine, I'm not doing anything remotely like that. You're a very important person. If you weren't, do you really think that the President of the United States would personally invite you to a State Dinner on Friday?"  
She shakes her head and smiles a little.  
"Do you really think that the First Lady of the United States would offer you a room in the Residence for however long you needed to stay? How about dinner cooked by the Residence chef, served to you and three of your friends in the Mess of the White House? I don't think that she would do that for just anyone, you know."  
She looks up at me and smiles.  
"Yeah. But, you were the one that made me come to the Oval Office and meet the President. You were the one that set me up to meet the First Lady. If it weren't for you, I don't know where I would be…"  
She starts to cry again, and I bring her towards me, holding her and gently rubbing her back.  
"I don't even want to think about that. You're here now, and that's the most important thing. I don't ever want to hear about you thinking that you don't deserve any of this, because it's simply not true. Catherine, you're my friend, and I would move mountains to help my friends. I think you know that."  
"Yeah. I do. I just don't deserve it."  
"You don't deserve what?"  
"You."  
I smile, close my eyes and place a gentle kiss on the top of her head.  
"It's reversed, you know."  
"What is?"  
"I don't deserve you."  
"Sam…"  
"It's not debatable. You're the best, and I don't want you to ever change. Not for me; not for the President or the First Lady. No one. Ok?"  
She starts to cry, and I hold her close as she allows me to comfort her. I look up and see the First Lady standing at the door. I guess she was waiting for us to get back. She looks at me with curiosity and mouths `Is she ok?' I nod, and close my eyes. The First Lady smiles at us, and mouths `Good night.' I smile, and mouth `You too.' After a few minutes standing here, she has calmed down a bit, and I hold the door open for her. As we get to her bedroom door, I turn and face her.  
"Catherine. I have to go to the office and work on this thing with Josh for a bit. But I'll be back as soon as I can, and remember. I'm a phone call away. Ok?"  
She smiles and nods her head.  
"Ok."  
I smile back at her.  
"Good."  
She smiles and gets a playful look on her face.  
"Is this the portion of the evening when you wonder if you should kiss the other person goodnight?"  
I smile and quietly laugh.  
"Yeah. It probably is. Let me get the door for you."  
"Ok."  
I turn the handle and as we had arranged earlier in the evening, I check the room for her, just to make sure it's ok. We talked about this over dinner, and I agreed to do this. I know that there's no chance of anyone being in here that shouldn't be, but if it eases her mind then I have no objections. I return to the bedroom from the bathroom and smile.  
"All clear. Remember, I'm right downstairs and only a phone call away."  
"Ok. Thank you, Sam."  
I stand in front of her and tip her head up towards mine as I whisper.  
"You're welcome."  
I bring my lips towards hers, and she closes her eyes. I place a very sweet and gentle kiss on her lips, and she sighs as our lips touch. I immediately open my eyes, just to see if something is wrong; but her eyes are still closed, so I'll take that as a good sign. We stand there for a moment, just looking at each other.  
She's the first to speak.  
"You should get going, Sam. You've got work to do."  
I run my finger down the right side of her face and along her jaw line as I smile.  
"Yeah. I'll be back soon. Have a good sleep."  
"I will. Thank you."  
"You're welcome."  
I place my thumb over her lips and I smile and she returns that smile to me. I turn and walk out the door, closing it gently behind me. I stand there for a moment, not fully understanding what just took place. However, I'm sure that when and IF she's ready, I'll be right there for her, just as I promised I would be.

"You wanted to see me?"  
I look up from my desk, and see Josh standing in front of me.  
"Yeah. Here's the file. It's done."  
He takes the folder from my hand, and smiles.  
"Good. I have to meet with them tomorrow, so I want to get up to speed on this. I'll read it over tonight."  
"Josh."  
"Yeah."  
"Well, Catherine is coming to my place tonight."  
He smirks.  
"She's being kicked out of the Residence?"  
I smile.  
"Hardly. She doesn't feel comfortable taking up space in the Residence, so I invited her to stay at my place."  
He tilts his head to the side, and I can see the beginnings of a cocky grin appear on his face.  
"Before you even go there, let me deny you of that notion right now. She needs to be somewhere where she feels safe. Somewhere other than the Residence, and that's the reason that I invited her. So get that  
thought out of your head. Ok?"  
"Ok. So when is she coming over?"  
"I'm picking her up after work tonight. I was thinking that, if you wanted to, if you and Donna wanted to come over and have dinner. Pizza or Chinese or something. I thought that it might make her feel a little more secure. You know. Having her friends around her, yadda, yadda, yadda."  
"Sounds like a good idea. I'll tell Donna about it when she gets back from the place. You know that it takes them almost an hour to get a file for me, but it takes Donna about ten minutes?"  
I can't help but smile.  
"That's probably because Donna has something you don't have."  
"I'm aware of that, Sam. I meant…"  
I have to cut him off, or this conversation is going to get WAY out of hand.  
"Charm, Joshua. I meant that Donna has charm."  
"Oh. Of course you did. That's what I meant too."  
I roll my eyes at him.  
"Is there any way for me to get out of this conversation?"  
"I have to go see CJ now."  
With that, he turns and walks out of my office. I pick up the schedule for the afternoon, when my phone rings.  
"Sam Seaborn."  
"Hi, Sam. I'm not interrupting you, am I?"  
"Absolutely not! How are you?"  
"I'm ok, thanks. How are you?"  
"I'm good. So are you getting all ready for tonight?"  
"I am. I'm almost packed up. I can't believe that you got all this stuff for me, you know."  
I smile.  
"Yeah, well. I told you before that I like to shop. So when I saw that stuff in Georgetown, I couldn't help myself."  
She laughs at me. That's such a wonderful sound.  
"Well, I appreciate all this, Sam. I just want you to always remember that."  
"I will. I promise. What time did you want to head over?"  
"Whenever you're ready to go. It's completely up to you to decide."  
I look at my schedule, and see the rest of my afternoon planned out for me in accurate detail.  
"Well, according to this, the last thing that I have on the schedule for today is evening Staff, and that's gonna be at 7:30. What about after that?"  
"Sounds good to me, Sam."  
"I told Josh about the dinner thing, and he said that he's all for it. That's still cool with you, right?"  
"Absolutely. It'll be nice to have Josh and Donna around. They're really great people, you know."  
"I sure do."  
"Well, Sam. I should let you get back to work. I just wanted to call and give you an update on things up here."  
"I'm very glad that you did. I'll call you when we're on the way up tonight. If you need anything…"  
"I know where you work. I'll call if I do. I promise."  
"Good. I'll talk to you later."  
"Bye, Sam."  
"Bye."

"Well Catherine. We're both happy and sad to see you go. You've been like a breath of fresh air around this place."  
"Thank you very much, Sir. I appreciate that."  
"Well, like Jed said. I'm glad that you're strong enough to be on your own. It's a very happy occasion. We are so glad that you're doing so well. And I know that you're going to have such a fantastic time tomorrow evening."  
"I'm looking forward to it, Ma'am."  
The First Lady looks at Catherine with `The Look.'  
"Ok. I'm looking forward to it. Abbey."  
We all share a laugh, and the First Lady gives Catherine a hug.  
"Take care of yourself, and don't let Sam drive you nuts. Ok?"  
"I promise, I won't let him either."  
"Good."  
The President walks up to Catherine and shakes her hand.  
"Catherine, it's been a pleasure. I told you before, and I'll re-iterate. If the time comes when you need anything, please don't hesitate. Ok?"  
Catherine smiles, and looks down at the floor; obviously humbled by the generosity of the President.  
"Thank you very much, Sir. I appreciate your kindness towards me more than you can imagine."  
"It was no trouble at all. Sam."  
"Yes, Sir."  
"Take special care of this lady. Alright?"  
I look directly at Catherine, who smiles and starts to blush.  
"I guarantee that, Sir."  
President and I smile at each other as we walk towards the door, and leave the Residence.

We get to the front door of my apartment, and I hold the door open for her.  
"Well, Catherine. Welcome home."  
She smiles.  
"Thank you."  
I close the door behind us, and she places her bag on the floor. I motion to take her coat.  
"Let me get that for you. Josh and Donna should be here any minute, they wanted to stop at the store and pick up a bottle of wine. I don't know why, because Donna doesn't let Josh drink very much."  
"I realized that the first day I met them."  
I pick up her bag from the floor and lead her through my place.  
"Well, let me give you the fifty cent tour."  
She smiles.  
"Ok."  
"Well, it's pretty obvious that this is the Living Room. Just down the hall is the first bathroom, which you can use as your own if you'd like. The office is just across the hall from that, and the first bedroom is just beside that on the right. This is my room here, so if , you know… If you have a bad dream or something, you know where I am."  
She smiles and lowers her head.  
"Thanks."  
I smile back and open the door to the spare room.  
"Here we go, Ma'am."  
"Oh, Sam. This is beautiful."  
"Well, I had Bonnie pop over this afternoon and make it look all pretty for you."  
"This is just so nice. The flowers are lovely."  
"Yeah. That was a nice touch, wasn't it? I should give Bonnie a raise. Just don't tell Donna, because she'll complain that Josh hasn't given her one yet."  
She laughs.  
"I promise."  
"Good. I'll leave you to get settled There's some of my old sweats in the drawer there. I thought you might want something comfy to change into, and…"  
There's a knock at the door.  
"I'll be right back. That'll be them."  
"Ok."  
I turn to exit the room, and she calls me back.  
"Sam?"  
I turn to face her.  
"Yes."  
She lowers her head and speaks quietly.  
"Thank you."  
I walk towards her and stand directly in front of her. I lift her chin up so I can see her face and I speak softly.  
"You're very welcome. I'm glad you're here."  
She starts to tear up, and she closes her eyes. I lean towards her and place a gentle kiss on her lips, and she opens her eyes. I can sense that she did that, so I open my eyes as my lips are still against hers. She smiles, and I smile back.  
"I'd better go let those two in before something happens to them."  
She smiles.  
"Ok. I'll be out in a minute."  
"Take your time. We'll wait for you."

"This was fun. I can't remember the last time that we all hung out together like this."  
"Donna, we did last week."  
"Yeah, but I mean… not in a public place. At someone's house. This was really nice."  
I smile, as does Josh and Catherine.  
"Yeah. We should do this more often."  
"Yeah. What time is it?"  
Donna looks at her watch.  
"It's 11:47, Josh."  
"Really? My watch says it's only 11:04."  
"That's because your watch sucks, dear."  
"Women."  
I smile.  
"No, it's just you two."  
"Anyway, we should be going. Catherine and I have a big day planned tomorrow, and I need all the energy I can muster for a full day of shopping."  
"I'm looking forward to it, Donna."  
"I'm so pleased. I have everything all planned out. Why don't we do this? We'll meet in the West Wing tomorrow morning. That way we can go over plans and stuff like that. Besides, you can get a ride in  
with Sam and it'll save you cab fare."  
She turns to look at me.  
"Sam, would that be ok?"  
I smile.  
"Absolutely no problem. You're gonna have a blast tomorrow."  
"Yeah. Just remember to keep my bill under the National Debt, Donnatella."  
"Josh, don't be like that. It's the least that you can do seeing as you won't give me a raise. I have to look good tomorrow, you know."  
Josh rolls his eyes as he gets off the couch and extends his hand to Donna to help her up.  
"Ok, ok. I swear to god, you're gonna be the death of me, Miss Moss."  
"Get over yourself, Josh. You couldn't live without me."  
He just smiles at her obvious truth.  
"Whatever. Good night guys."  
Catherine and I stand up to see them to the door.  
"Good night. I'll see you at Staff."  
"Take it easy buddy."  
"Yeah."  
"Donna."  
"Sam."  
Donna and I share a hug, and she whispers to me.  
"Take good care of her, Samuel."  
I whisper back.  
"I will."  
We break our hug, and see Catherine giving Josh a tense hug goodnight. After they break the hug, Donna turns to Catherine and smiles at her.  
"Catherine, I will see in you in the morning. Ok?"  
Catherine smiles.  
"Absolutely. I'll be there."  
Donna walks towards her, and they share the kind of hug that only two females can share. It's the gentle, you're a good friend hug, and Josh and I look at each other and smile. I open the door and they  
leave, as we stand at the door and wave goodbye to them. I turn and see that Catherine has left my side and is at the coffee table in the Living Room, cleaning up the mess that we have made from our dinner  
there. I close the door and walk towards her.  
"Catherine, you don't have to do this now."  
She keeps her attention focused on her work, but speaks at the same time.  
"Yes, Sam. I need to. I have to get this cleaned up. Look at it! It's a mess all over here."  
I reach her side, and place my hand on her shoulder. She tenses a little, and looks up at me with insecure eyes.  
"Cath. Honestly, you don't have to do this. If you're tired, which I know you are because you yawned a few times during the evening, go to bed. Get your rest. I think Donna has a busy day planned for you  
tomorrow, so I think you're gonna need it."  
She smiles and lowers her head.  
"I tried to cover my yawn, but I guess you did see it. I think it was the wine. I haven't had a drink in a long time, and I think it went to my head."  
I smile.  
"Well, I'll deal with this stuff in the morning. Let's get you to bed."  
"Ok."  
I wrap my arm around her shoulder, and get her to the bedroom.  
"Well, I guess I'll leave you to do whatever it is that ladies do when they're getting ready for bed. If you need me, just give me a shout."  
"Ok."  
"Goodnight."  
We stand there for a moment, just looking at each other. She smiles, and lowers her head.  
"Sam."  
"Yeah."  
She looks up at me.  
"I don't know if I can be here, you know. Alone."  
"You're not alone, Catherine. I don't ever want you to feel that way."  
She looks at me for a moment.  
"Stay with me?"  
"Is that a question or a statement?"  
She smiles.  
"You choose."  
I look at her, then smile.  
"I'll just go change, then I'll be right back."  
"Ok."

It's been about twenty minutes since she asked me to stay in her room with her. Josh called about the thing, and I had to take the call. I walk towards her room and knock lightly on the door. There's no answer, so I open the door slowly and walk in. I see her curled up on her side in between the sheets, the bedside lamp on the opposite side of the bed on and the sheets turned down, and I'm assuming that's just for me. I walk over, and sit down, shutting off the light as I do. I slip into the sheets, and turn on my side, watching the steady rhythm of her breathing. I can't help but run my fingers along the side of her face. She looks so peaceful like this. This poor woman has been through so much, and to see her sleeping here in such a restful state. Well, let's just say it makes me feel very glad. I sigh as I brush the stray strands of hair away from her face, and she starts to stir. She slowly opens her eyes and looks at  
me. My eyes have adjusted to the dark now, and I can see her smiling at me.  
"Hi."  
"I didn't wake you, did I?"  
She moves towards me a little as she speaks.  
"No. I was just resting my eyes."  
She closes her eyes and smiles as she leans in to me.  
"Very funny, Catherine. I'm sorry I woke you."  
"Sam, it's ok. Really."  
"Ok."  
We stay in the same positions for a moment. I'm still stroking the side of her face, and and I place a kiss on her forehead.  
"What was that for?"  
I smile.  
"Nothing. I just wanted to. I hope it was ok."  
"Yeah. It was very ok."  
"Catherine…"  
"Sam, I…"  
"Catherine, I need you to listen to me for a minute. I don't want you to take this the way it will probably sound, so please just hear me out, ok?"  
She smiles and nods her head and smiles.  
"Catherine, I think you know how I feel about things, and I also know that we're both in really vulnerable states right now."  
"Sam, how are you vulnerable?"  
"Well, I've been hurt before. Not that it's anything I couldn't handle or anything, but I haven't been all that lucky with women. The women that I have been with, well. Let's just say that I got the short end of the stick in those relationships. I'm not saying that I don't want to do this with you, I just don't know if it's the right time to go all the way."  
"Sam…"  
"Cath, I don't want this to be some kind of retribution or anything like that. I need to know that you're in this as much as I am, and I think in order for that to happen we need to wait. Believe me, when the time is right for both of us, I'll be more than, pardon the pun, up for it. Ok?"  
She closes her eyes and starts to cry. I brush my fingers along the side of her face.  
"What's wrong?"  
"Sam."  
I kiss her on the forehead.  
"It's ok, honey. Go ahead."  
She wraps her arms around me and cries.

I roll over and look at the clock. It's 3:40. I turn my head to the side, and don't see Catherine. I immediately get up, put on my slippers and my robe, and start to walk through my apartment, looking  
for her. I walk out to the Living Room, and see her curled up on the couch all wrapped up in a blanket. The coffee table is clean, and the TV is on, but the volume is very low. I smile as I walk over to her. She keeps her eyes focused on the TV, but I know she knows I'm here. I sit on the couch just beside her as I place my hand on her waist.  
"Hey, what's going on? I woke up and didn't see you there."  
She keeps looking at the TV, but responds.  
"Yeah, I couldn't sleep, so I came out here and cleaned up a bit. I hope I didn't wake you."  
I shake my head.  
"Catherine, I'm not buying it. Why aren't you in bed?"  
I reach for the remote and turn off the TV so she can actually talk to me. She closes her eyes, and turns slightly so she can see me. I see the tears that are in her eyes, and I reach up to try and brush them away.  
"Sam, I just am so used to not being there after… you know. He would never want to even really look at me afterwards. I'm just used to spending a lot of time on the couch. Besides, I felt stupid about the whole thing."  
I'm not going to cry. I'm not going to cry. I'm not going to cry. I move the coffee table away from the couch, and sit directly in front of her on the ground. I run my fingers along the side of her face, brushing away her tears.  
"Catherine. Why would you ever feel stupid?"  
She shrugs her shoulders.  
"I don't know. I guess because you didn't want to… I thought that you wouldn't want me there. So I came out to the Living Room and…"  
I press my lips gently against hers. She opens her eyes wide, but then relaxes once her shock has gone away. I pull back from her and run my fingers through her hair.  
"Catherine. I wouldn't want you to be anywhere else. Don't ever think that I wouldn't want to look at you, or to have you near me. You're beautiful…"  
She starts to lower her head so she doesn't have to look at me, but I take her chin and raise it up so she has no where else to look but at me.  
"Catherine, listen. You ARE beautiful, and I can't imagine anyone NOT wanting to look at you, especially after that."  
She smiles and rolls her eyes, as I know she's embarrassed by what I just said, but what the hell. It's true.  
"Listen. I don't want you to ever think that I don't want to. I  
just want to wait until the time is right; for both of us. Ok?"  
She nods her head, and closes her eyes as she does.  
"Ok."  
I smile as I run my finger along her face, and place a gentle kiss on her lips. I pull back and whisper to her.  
"Come back to bed."  
She nods her head and starts to get up from the couch but I stop her from standing.  
"Wait right there."  
I stand up in front of her and lean down, placing my hands underneath her. She smile sand shakes her head, but she lets me do what I'm about to. I carefully pick her up, and bring her close to me in my arms. I stand there, holding her close to me, and she wraps her arms around my neck and rests her head on my shoulder. I kiss the top of her head as I slowly walk back to the bedroom. I place her down gently and tuck her in the sheets, and she pulls back the other side for me. I climb in, and hold my arm out for her to come closer. She smiles, and instinctively places her arm across my chest, and rests her head on my shoulder. We look at each other and smile.

"We should get to sleep. You're going to have a busy day tomorrow."  
She smiles.  
"Yeah. I know. Thank you, Sam. For everything."  
"You're welcome. Good night."  
She closes her eyes and sighs.  
"Goodnight, Sam."  
I kiss her on the top of the head, and feel her mold her body against mine. I smile, close my eyes, and slowly drift off to sleep.  
****


	6. Chapter 6

I reach my hand over to the alarm clock and slap the off button. I get out of the bed, and stretch in my normal routine. I put on my slippers, and as I reach for my robe I smell a glorious smell coming from the kitchen. I walk out and see the lights on, and hear a flurry of activity coming from the room. I walk over to Catherine, and run my fingers through my hair.  
"Hey."  
She turns and smiles at me.  
"Good morning to you too."  
"What's all this?"  
"The first meal of the day is usually called breakfast. That is, for normal people it's named as such."  
"You're funny."  
I lean towards her and give her a kiss on the cheek, which she is receptive to. She hands me a steaming mug of coffee.  
"Thanks. What time did you get up?"  
"I was up about half an hour ago. I had to tend to a call of nature, and I looked at the clock. I knew that your morning staff meeting is going to be held at 7 this morning, so I thought I would stay up and make you breakfast."  
I smile as I sip from my mug.  
"Thanks. What have I got in there?"  
"Well, I had a look through your fridge. I have to tell you, Sam. You really need to clean that baby out. There's stuff in there that I couldn't identify."  
I smirk.  
"Yeah. That's what happens from working 20 hour days."  
She turns and stirs what she has cooking in the pan as she speaks.  
"Well, we have scrambled eggs for one. I didn't think that they would be too bad. I looked in the freezer and you actually had bacon in there. So it's in the oven keeping warm. I'll make toast in a second, and then there's some fruit on the table. You should have fruit in the morning; it's good for digestion."  
I put my mug on the counter and slowly wrap my arm around her waist, and rest my head on her shoulder.  
"You didn't have to do all this, but thanks."  
She lowers her head a little.  
"You're welcome. I thought that with the big dinner tonight, you'd probably want to have a decent breakfast. Something other than a bagel on the way to the White House."  
"How did you know that was my usual?"  
"Well, it was either that or the Fruit Loops that are in the cupboard, and I can't believe for one minute that you eat those things."  
"Well…"  
"Sam, go have a seat. Breakfast is served."

"Thank you, Mr. President."  
We all leave the Oval Office, after our morning Staff. As Josh and I walk down the hall towards my office, we hear Donna and Catherine laughing at something. I turn and look at Josh.  
"You know, it's so good to hear her laugh."  
"Yeah. I can only imagine."  
"Well, you've been through trauma. We were so thrilled when we knew that you were going to be ok. Just don't tell anyone that I actually told you that, ok?"  
Josh smiles, and gives me a friendly slap on the back.  
"Yeah. I wouldn't want to wreck the concealed level of mutual affection that the Senior Staff shares with each other. I rather prefer the hostile working environment."  
I shake my head at him and smile.  
"You're an idiot."  
"Yeah, but you love me."  
"Shut up."  
"Ok."  
We approach the bullpen, and Donna looks up at us.  
"Hey guys. How was Staff?"  
"Very productive. What's so funny?"  
"Nothing really. I was just telling Donna about some of the things that you used to do in High School."  
I groan.  
"Oh god."  
"Yeah. And I can't believe that you gave that guy a swirly."  
"Sam! I'm impressed! Did you use the front technique or the reverse?"  
"JOSHUA LYMAN!"  
"DONNATELLA MOSS!"  
"I can't believe that you encourage this… well let me retract that. I do believe that you would encourage that."  
"Well, are you ladies ready for a full day?"  
"Absolutely. We're fired up and ready to go."  
"I'm excited. I haven't done something like this in I don't know how long."  
I smile.  
"Cath, can you come in my office for a minute?"  
She looks around at Josh and Donna, then follows me in.  
"What is it, Sam?"  
I get out my wallet, and hand her my credit card.  
"I just wanted to give you my card. It hasn't had a good workout in a while, so give it some exercise today. Alright?"  
She smiles and accepts it from me.  
"Thanks, Sam."  
"You're welcome. Have a great day."  
She stands up tall and looks directly at me.  
"I absolutely will."  
I take hold of her hand, and look directly at her.

"Cath, I want to give you this. If you need me, for anything, please use it. Even if it's just to say hi, I want you to use it. I have my pager, and it's programmed in there under number one. It'll just make me feel better knowing that if you need me, you can reach me."  
She smiles and accepts my phone, then places a kiss on my cheek.  
"Thank you. How about I call you when we're going to lunch?"  
I smile.  
"Sounds like a plan. Have a great day."  
"Thank you. We will."  
"Let me get the door for you."  
I open the door for her, and we walk out to see Donna and Josh talking to each other.  
"Well Donna. Are you ready?"  
"Absolutely, Catherine. Let's go. Have a good day, boys."  
"You too."  
"Donna, where's the file for…"  
"Get bent, Josh."  
"FIRED!"  
"IMPERVIOUS, AND I HAVE YOUR PLASTIC! BE NICE TO ME!"  
Josh and I stand shoulder to shoulder as we watch the ladies leave for their very overdue day of pampering.  
"You know, Josh. I really am jealous."  
"Of what?"  
"You."  
"What do you mean?"  
"Well, you've got it all. A job that you love, a woman that loves you just as much as she needs air to breathe, what more could a man ask for?"  
"I don't know if she loves me, Sam. I mean, she's a power dater, and we all know that…"  
I head into my office, and just before I close the door I turn and look at him with a very serious expression on my face.  
"I don't mean Amy."  
"Huh?"

"Well, there's a plethora of boutiques we can choose from. Which one would you like to go to first?"  
"I don't know, Donna. I mean, it's just crazy all these dress shops around here. I never knew that there were so many. I really can't decide."  
"Well, seeing as Chanel is just across the street, why don't we go there?"  
I smile. I'm glad she's here to help me decide these things.  
"Sounds good."  
We cross the street and enter the boutique. As soon as we enter,  
we're greeted by a very friendly sales lady.  
"Good morning, ladies. How are you today?"  
"Very well, thank you."  
"That's good. Is there anything that we can help you with today?"  
"Well, my friend and I are looking for formal dresses."  
"Ah, I see. For a wedding?"  
Donna looks at me, knowing that she can't really say who she is or  
where she works, or what we need the dresses for.  
"Well, it's a really fancy dinner, with lots of people. Have you got  
anything that would be suitable?"  
"Business formal or really formal?"  
Donna and I look at each other and at the same time we speak.  
"Really formal."  
The sales lady tilts her head to the side, purses her lips and all of  
a sudden, she smiles.  
"I think I have just the thing for you ladies. Why don't you follow  
me upstairs and we'll see what we can do for you."  
"Great."

"Well, Donna? What do you think of that one?"  
"I love it. It fits just perfectly. What do you think?"  
"I think it's beautiful. It brings out your eyes."  
"Thanks. I love the neckline."  
"Josh is going to flip his lid when he sees you in that."  
She turns her head to me very quickly.  
"Why would you say that?"  
"Well, you two are, you know. Together, aren't you?"  
She laughs.  
"Josh? As in Josh Lyman? Dear god, no."  
"Oh, I'm sorry Donna. I just figured from the way you act when  
you're together, that you were."  
"Josh and I are just friends. But more importantly, he's my boss."  
"Yeah. That's the problem, isn't it?"  
She lowers her head.  
"Yeah."  
I smile. After a moment she lifts her head up and looks at the sales  
lady.  
"You know, I think I'd like to go to a couple of other places; just  
to make sure that this is the dress for me. Could you hold this for  
me just in case?"  
She smiles.  
"Absolutely. When will I know?"  
"Well, we're having lunch at noon, then getting ourselves dolled up  
after that. So I'm thinking by around 1."  
"Perfect. I'll put it up here for you. Just pop in and let me know."  
"Ok. I'm just going to go back in and change. I'll be out in a  
minute."  
The phone in my purse is ringing. I look at the screen and see that  
it's Sam's office, so it has to be him.  
"Hello?"  
"Hey. How's it going?"  
"Very well, thanks. You?"  
"I'm up to my ears in file folders, but I'm keeping it together.  
Have you found a dress yet?"  
"Not me, but I think Donna has."  
"Good! I'm glad to hear it. Where did she find it?"  
"Chanel."  
"Ooh. When the girl gets Josh's card, there's no holding back."  
"You can say that again. His jaw is going to drop; she looks  
beautiful in it."  
"Good, I'm so pleased. Now, the main question is, where are you  
going to find your dress? I know there's an Oscar de la Renta  
boutique uptown somewhere, and there's a Vera Wang place too. I just  
don't remember where it is."  
"Sam, it's ok. Donna has a map."  
"You're kidding!"  
"I'm holding it in my hand right now."  
"Good lord she's insane."  
"Yeah, but when you're on a tight schedule, it always helps."  
"It sure does. Listen, I have to get going, but I just wanted to  
call and see how you were both doing."  
"Are you ready to go Catherine?"  
"Just about. Sam says hi."  
"Hi Sam!"  
"Donna says hi."  
"Well, say hi back for me, and let her know that Josh is beside  
himself knowing what to do today. He really can't function without  
her."  
"I know the feeling."  
"Have a wonderful day, and call me when you find your dress, ok? I  
want to hear all the details."  
"I will. Thanks Sam."  
"No problem. Bye."

Catherine and I have found our dresses, and we're eating lunch at the  
Georgetowne Station, just as I told her we would.  
"So is there any protocol that I should know about, Donna?"  
She takes a bite of her salad.  
"Like what?"  
"Oh, I don't know. Any major things that I should be aware of?"  
"Well, you know that when he comes in the room everyone stands up."  
"Yeah. I already knew that one. I mean anything special because  
it's such a special event?"  
"Nothing really. I'm sure if something's going on that Sam will tell  
you what's happening."  
"I don't know, Donna. I mean, I just think it'll be weird to know  
that there will be all that security there. How do you deal with it  
every day?"  
"Well, they're not around me every day. Having Josh around you is  
bad enough."  
She laughs at my joke, so I know it served its purpose.  
"Seriously, Donna. How can you be, you know, normal around them when  
you know that they're watching every move you make?"  
Wow. That was profound. I never really thought of it that way  
before.  
"I don't know. I guess I just realize that they're doing their job,  
and that as long as I'm doing mine, I have nothing to worry about.  
My main concern is to watch out for Josh, and make sure that he's  
ok. As long as I'm doing that I'm too busy to care about anything  
else."  
"I can understand that. So what are we going to do after lunch?"  
"Well, we have appointments at the beauty salon up the street. We  
can go and get our hair done, get our nails done, anything that we  
want, really."  
"Sounds good. You know, I think I might do a drastic change. What  
do you think if I cut my hair?"  
"How short?"  
"Well, my dress would look ok if my hair was…"

"Hello."  
"Hey Donna. How are you doing?"  
"I'm doing just great, Sam. How are you?"  
"Doing well. We're just about to pop into Staff, so I thought I'd  
call and see how you ladies were making out."  
"We're doing good."  
"Glad to hear it. So, how is she?"  
"She's doing really well. She had a really good time, I think."  
"Well, with you around, I think it would be difficult for her to not  
have a good time."  
"Thanks, Sam."  
I look up and see Catherine walking out of the bathroom, wrapped in a  
robe I lent her and a towel wrapped around her head.  
"The shower's free, Donna."  
"Thanks. Sam's on the phone."  
"Say hi."  
"Say hi yourself! Sam, I'm gonna pop into the shower now. I'll pass  
you off to Catherine. We'll see you both soon."  
"Ok."  
I hand the phone to Catherine, and I head to the bathroom to have my  
shower and get ready.  
"Hey Sam."  
"Hey beautiful."  
"Sam…"  
"Catherine, I told you last night. You are, so don't dispute it, ok?"  
I smile.  
"Ok. When are you going to be here?"  
"Well, I just told Donna that we were popping into Staff, so I should  
be there in about an hour. I have to change into my tux first. How  
are things at her place?"  
"Great. I had such a fantastic time with her today."  
"I'm so pleased. Your dress is all ready to go?"  
"Yup. I got shoes too. I had to get a pedicure at the place because  
the shoes are open toe."  
"Well, you have to have shoes to match the dress, and I'm sure that  
your toes will look wonderful in them. There's no need to explain,  
because I completely understand. Well, I should be going. We'll see  
you in about an hour. Ok?"  
"Ok. Thanks, Sam."  
"You're very welcome. See you soon."  
"Bye."

"Sam, I wonder what their dresses look like. I mean, I know that  
Donna will have picked something out that's just beautiful, but I  
have to admit I'm a little nervous."  
"Why would you be nervous, Josh? Isn't she, you know. Donna?"  
"Well, yeah. But…"  
I smile.  
"Yeah. I know. We all know, trust me."  
"What are you talking about?"  
I turn into the parking lot of Donna's apartment and begin to look  
for a parking space.  
"Well, we've all known since the first campaign that there was more  
there than you were both letting on. Just don't blow it."  
"But Sam, I'm with Amy."  
"We are all aware of that, but I'm just saying that even though YOU  
are with Amy, your heart is with someone else. I think you know it,  
but you're just afraid to admit it."  
He doesn't say anything to me, but just lowers his head. I pull into  
one of the visitor parking spaces, and we get out of the car. As we  
walk up the steps to the front door, Josh looks at me.  
"Sam. Do you really think that it's like that? You know, for her  
too?"  
I smile.  
"Well, you should find out. I can't answer that question for you,  
you have to find out for yourself."  
He smiles.  
"Would you support it?"  
"Just like I support the President; with everything that I am."  
He smiles and gives me a slap on the arm.  
"Thanks, buddy."  
"Any time."  
We buzz Donna's apartment, and she lets us in. We head up to her  
apartment and knock on the door.  
"Donna, it's us."  
We hear a voice from behind the door.  
"Just a second. I have to find my … damn it!"  
"What?"  
"I can't find my other shoe!"  
I hear Catherine's voice.  
"It's right here, Donna. You left it in the bedroom."  
"Ok. Be right there, guys."  
"Ok."  
We hear some clumsy and heavy footsteps from behind the door, and  
just as Josh is about to go out of his mind, we hear the sound of the  
deadbolt unlocking, and the handle on the door turns slowly.  
"Hey. Come on in."  
I walk inside Donna's apartment, and Josh is still standing in the  
hall.  
"Well, are you coming in, Josh?"  
"Wow."  
"You like it?"  
"Wow."  
"Another word please?"  
"Holy shit."  
Donna smirks.  
"That was two words, actually, but I'll take them. Come in, Josh."  
He walks into her apartment, and can't really keep his eyes off Donna.  
"Josh, would you please stop leering at me?"  
"I'm not… Donna!"  
"What?"  
"You look nice, is all."  
She smiles and lowers her head.  
"Thanks. So do you."  
"Thank you."  
He takes his hand from behind his back, and speaks.  
"I have something for you, Miss Moss."  
She sighs.  
"Don't tell me it's the file for the meeting you had today, because  
if it is, I'm not going to…"  
He brings his hand in front of him, and hands her the rose he was  
hiding behind his back. She starts to tear up.  
"Thank you, Josh. It's beautiful."  
He mutters something under his breath.  
"I'm sorry, I didn't hear you. Wow. I don't say that often enough."  
"I said, just like you."  
They stand in the entrance to her apartment, just looking nervously  
at each other.  
"I think I'm going to go put this in water. Make yourselves at home  
guys."  
"Ok."  
Donna walks into the kitchen to put her rose in some water, and Josh  
looks at me with wide eyes.  
"Wow."  
I smile.  
"I told you she was gonna take your breath away, didn't I?"  
"Yeah."  
"Donna, where's Catherine?"  
"I'm in here, Sam. I'll be out in just a second."  
"Ok. Take your time."  
As soon as I say that, the door to Donna's bedroom opens, and I  
immediately stand up, as does Josh. Wow. WOW.  
"Catherine. You look so…"  
"Different. I know."  
"I mean, your hair. Don't get me wrong, it looks fantastic. It's  
just such a difference."  
"Yeah. I thought it was time to start making some changes, and even  
though this is a small one, it's a first step. You really like it,  
Sam?"  
I walk over to her.  
"You look absolutely beautiful. I love it."  
"Thanks. What do you think of the dress?"  
"It's gorgeous. You and Donna sure know how to shop."  
"Well, I had help in the shopping department. The only thing is this  
stupid tag."  
"What tag?"  
"Come here for a second."  
"Ok."  
She walks back into the bedroom and she points to the zipper in the  
back of the dress.  
"Well, the tag keeps getting caught in the zipper, and I can't  
completely do it up. It's just a little annoying, that's all."  
I look at her with a questioning look.  
"Catherine, why do you still have the tag in the back of the dress?"  
"Well, Sam. This dress was insanely expensive, and I figured that if  
I was really careful, I would be able to return it tomorrow. The  
only way I can do that is if the tag is still…"  
I unzip the zipper a little and take the tag in my hands. I look at  
the price tag. $1300. That's not that bad, for an Oscar.  
"It's this that's giving you trouble?"  
"Yeah. It's itchy, and I think that you can see the outline of it in  
the back. I forgot to consider that when I got my hair shopped so  
short."  
"I'll be right back and fix this for you. Don't go anywhere."  
"Ok."  
I head out to the Living Room and see Donna and Josh in a warm  
embrace. I clear my throat to break up the, um, festivities, and ask  
Donna if she can help. She goes into the kitchen, pulls out what I  
asked her for, and I slip it into my pocket.  
"Thanks. You can continue now, you guys."  
I smile as I knock on the door and Catherine lets me in.  
"Hey. Turn around and I'll fix this for you."  
"Ok."  
She goes to lift up her hair, then places her arms back down at her  
sides as she laughs.  
"I'm so used to having to do that. Are you sure that it looks ok?"  
"You look beautiful. I love your hair short like that and the  
highlights are beautiful. The cut elongates your neck, and makes you  
look taller, actually."  
"That's a good thing?"  
"Yes. It's a very good thing. Ok. Let me re-arrange this for you."  
"Ok."  
I lift the tag out from the dress, and as I snip the plastic that has  
attached it to the inside dressmaker's tag, she gasps. She turns  
around and sees the scissors in my right hand, and the tag in my  
left. She starts to tear up.  
"Sam, what did you do that for? Now I'm not going to be able to  
return this in the morning."  
"Catherine, I don't want you to return it. You look beautiful, and  
you deserve to have a beautiful dress. So, consider this a present."  
"But Sam, you saw the price tag. I can't possibly afford a dress  
that was this expensive."  
"Well, see. Here's the thing. I can. And seeing as it was put on  
my credit card, I bought it, so I want you to keep it. No questions  
asked, ok?"  
"Ok. Thanks."  
"You're welcome."  
"I knew that you had an incredible figure, but damn. This dress  
doesn't leave much to the imagination."  
She smiles at me.  
"Well, I figured that the color would be ok. I had a feeling that  
you were going to wear a black bow tie, so I thought black would be  
good. You can't really go wrong with black. And the sleeves are  
nice and long, to cover up, you know."  
"Yeah."  
"The bruise that's just on my shoulder here is almost gone, so I just  
put a little cover up on it, and you can't even see it, unless you  
look really hard. Donna loaned me this necklace to accent the bare  
shoulders and neckline, and the earrings were ones that I had in my  
bag already. They were my grandmothers, and I wasn't about to leave  
them there."  
"I understand completely. Well, if you're ready to go…"  
"Almost. There's one thing that I have to do."  
I look up at her.  
"What's that?"  
"This."  
She leans towards me and places a kiss on my lips, which I am more  
than receptive to. We pull away mutually, and I smile.  
"What was that for?"  
"Well, the lipstick is supposed to be color fast, so I had to check  
that out and see if it lived up to it's promises."  
I smile.  
"So, did it?"  
"Looks that way, but I may have to test that theory a few more times  
during the night; just to make sure."  
I place my hand on her back as we leave the bedroom.  
"I look forward to that."  
Josh and Donna are standing at the door next to each other, and I  
reach for Catherine's coat.  
"Sam, I have a shoulder wrap in the closet. It came with the dress."  
"You really went all out, didn't you? Going for a completely  
different look."  
"Yeah. I told you, it's time for a change."  
"Well, the President doesn't wait for anyone, much less us. Let's be  
going."  
As we walk to the car, Josh has his hand on Donna's back, and I have  
mine on Catherine's. We reach the car, and we open the door for the  
ladies. I open the front passenger door for Catherine, and Josh  
opens the back door for Donna. We get in, and make our way to the  
White House.

We're walking up the steps of the North Entrance, and I remember that  
I have to stop by my office.  
"Catherine, I have to stop by my office for a second. Is that ok?"  
"Sure."  
"Ok. We'll see you in there, guys."  
"No problem."  
We walk towards the Communications Bullpen, and I open the door to my  
office, with Catherine following closely behind me.  
"What is it that you need, Sam?"  
"Well, I forgot to bring something with me, and I just wanted to make  
sure that, you know…"  
I reach under my desk and pull out a long white box. I walk towards  
Catherine, and present her with the box.  
"These are for you."  
She holds out her arms, and I can see the tears start to form in the  
corners of her eyes.  
"Sam, you didn't have to…"  
"I know, but I wanted to. This is sort of like a date, and, well.  
You can't go on a date and not bring the lady flowers. It's just not  
right."  
She smiles, then places the box on my desk and opens the lid. She  
brings her hand to her mouth when she sees the flowers inside.  
"Sam, they're beautiful. Thank you."  
She leans over and smells the fragrance coming from inside the box.  
"I hoped you'd like them."  
"I certainly do."  
She stands up, and turns to look at me. We stand very close to each  
other in the middle of the office when she moves closer to me and  
smiles.  
"Sam."  
"Yeah."  
"Can I test the promises again?"  
"You know you don't have to ask."  
She slowly brings her hands up to my neck, then laces her fingers  
through my hair as she brings my head close to hers. I wrap my arms  
around her waist and we share a beautiful kiss in the middle of my  
office. After a moment, we pull back, and I kiss her on the tip of  
the nose.  
"We should get going."  
"Yeah. We should."  
"Let's go."  
I hold my arm out for her to hold on to, and she laces her arm  
through mine, and we walk together through the halls of the White  
House towards the Grand Ballroom. We approach the door, and the  
first Secret Service Agent asks our names to confirm them on the  
guest list.  
"Sam Seaborn and guest."  
"The guest's name, Sir?"  
"Catherine Wilson."  
He scrolls up and down the list checking for our names, and he nods.  
"Have a good evening, folks."  
"Thank you."  
They hold the door open for us as we walk in. Catherine tenses up a  
little when she sees all the people in the room. She leans in and  
whispers to me.  
"Sam, there's so many people."  
I lean into her and whisper back.  
"You're going to be just fine. Let's go find Josh and Donna, ok?  
Then we can relax."  
She looks up at me and smiles.  
"Ok."  
I nod my head resolutely.  
"Good. Let's go."  
****

"Ladies, and gentlemen. The President and First Lady of the United  
States."  
Everyone in the room stands as the President and First Lady are  
introduced, and we give them our heart-felt applause. They enter the  
room, and begin to make their way to the head table, where the guest  
of honor is waiting for them. The President looks towards our table,  
and he motions to the First Lady where we are. She looks at us, then  
does a double take as if she doesn't recognize us. She leaves her  
husband and walks over to our table and comes directly in front of  
Catherine. She holds out her arms, and gives Catherine a hug.  
"Oh My God. You look fantastic!"  
Catherine smiles at her.  
"Thank you, Ma'am. So do you."  
"I'm not going to make you call me Abbey right now, but under other  
circumstances…"  
We all smile.  
"I understand, Ma'am."  
"When did you get this dress?"  
"Well, Donna and I went shopping today, and I picked this up."  
"It's beautiful. I love the neckline. This is velvet?"  
"Yes, Ma'am."  
"The cut doesn't leave much to the imagination, but I'm sure that Sam  
appreciates that."  
I can't help but blush at that one.  
"I certainly do, Ma'am."  
"Well, it's gorgeous. I'm so glad that you decided to come with  
Sam. Have a wonderful time tonight, ok?"  
She smiles at her.  
"I will, Ma'am. Thank you."  
"You're welcome. I have to get up there and do First Lady type  
things. We'll talk later, ok?"  
"Absolutely."  
She makes her way to the head table, and as soon as she gets there  
she and the President sit, then we all follow suit. I turn my head  
towards Catherine and whisper to her.  
"I told you that you looked beautiful. The First Lady doesn't throw  
away compliments."  
"Thank you."

Dinner has just finished, and I don't have any shame in saying that  
I'm stuffed. A nine course meal, with wine and other alcohol flowing  
freely. I'm done. Catherine has been talking a little during  
dinner, but she hasn't been saying much. I don't really blame her  
with all that she's been through. This is a big step for her to be  
out at a public event like this, and she's doing remarkably well.  
Josh and Donna are out on the dance floor, showing off their dance  
moves to anyone that wishes to watch them.  
"See, that's nice. It's about time those two got together."  
"I can't help but notice that they were holding hands in the back of  
the car on the way over."  
"Really? I didn't see that."  
"You were too busy driving, Sam. You needed to pay attention to  
that."  
"You have a very valid point, as usual."  
"She really does love him."  
"The feeling is very mutual. I'm so glad that he called it off with  
Amy and finally realized what we've all known for years."  
"True. He didn't even seem remorseful about the situation with Amy.  
I guess he knew that it was the right thing to do."  
"Well, not many people around here liked Amy that much. She was  
using Josh, and he told me today that they had broken up a few days  
ago which would explain his mood swings from the past week."  
"So he was planning on using the dinner tonight to officially start  
dating Donna?"  
"Well, something like that."  
I smile at Catherine as I put my arm around her shoulder. She smiles  
at me, and turns to look at them dancing.  
"They're meant to be, you know."  
"And you've known them for how long?"  
"About a week."  
"I know. It's so obvious. Good for them. His eyes just about  
bugged out of his head when he saw her at her place."  
She laughs.  
"I told her that he'd love that dress. I knew that the Royal Blue  
would be the best color. It brings out her eyes, and her hair just  
looks so beautiful all curly like that. She looks like a Princess."  
"Yeah. So when's she gonna get to turn Josh into a Prince?"  
"I think they'll deal with that on their own time. That's a  
conversation that I don't want to get involved in."  
I run my hand along her shoulder, and she tilts her head downward.  
She looks a little sad, and I don't want to add to that emotion. The  
music changes to a different song, and I get an idea in my head. I  
take my hand away from her shoulder, and stand up from the table.  
She looks up at me.  
"Sam, where are you going?"  
"No where."  
I extend my hand to her and lean forward.  
"May I have this dance?"  
She tilts her head to the side and smiles.  
"I would love to."  
She takes hold of my hand and I place my arm around her as we walk to  
the dance floor. The music is perfect for us. "I've Had The Time Of  
My Life" from one of my favorite movies, Dirty Dancing. Just don't  
tell anyone that it's one of my favorites, ok? The first part of the  
song starts, and Catherine is a little tense, which is  
understandable. I hold her close to me as we start to sway to the  
music. She rests her head on my shoulder as we dance. I start to  
move my feet a little and she follows me, moving in the same  
direction I am. Before we know it, it's as though there's no one  
else in the room but us. We're dancing the same way that they did at  
the end of the movie; our feet in perfect rhythm with each others. I  
extend my arm and she uncurls from me, then I draw her back, and she  
laughs right out loud. She smiles as I bring her back towards me,  
and I notice that Josh, Donna, the President and First Lady are all  
watching us. I smile, realizing that this is probably the most fun  
she's had in a very long time. As I bring her close to me again, she  
wraps her arms around me, and rests her head on my shoulder. She  
places a kiss on my neck, and I look down at her with a smile on my  
face.  
"What was that for?"  
"Just testing. Making sure it's still colorfast."  
She smiles, and I smile back. It's the slow part at the end of the  
song, and she rests her chin on my shoulder, as we are moving slowly  
in time to the music. I suddenly feel her tense up, and she doesn't  
move. I feel her lower her head so she can't see over my shoulder,  
and I pull my head back so I can see her.  
"What's wrong?"  
She shakes her head.  
"It's nothing. I just need to…"  
"What?"  
"I need to sit down."  
"Ok."  
I place my hand on her back to lead her from the dance floor, and she  
brushes me away. I realize that something's wrong, so I walk  
beside her and hold out her chair for her as she sits down. I don't  
say anything for a moment, then I lean towards her as she still has  
her head down.  
"Catherine, what's wrong?"  
"Nothing."  
"I know something's the matter, you can tell me."  
"I just need to go to the Ladies room for a minute."  
I smile.  
"Ok. Would you like me to come with you?"  
"Sam, I can do that myself, you know."  
"Ok, ok. I was just making sure that… why don't I walk you there."  
She sighs, then she nods her head. We stand up and I lead her to the  
ladies room, and stand in front of her before she goes in.  
"Are you sure that you're ok?"  
"Yeah. I think it's just all the wine I had. I'm ok."  
"Ok. Do you want me to wait here for you?"  
"Really, Sam. I'm ok."  
"Ok. I'll see you back there."  
"Sure."

"Sam, are you ok?"  
I look up at Josh, who has a strange look on his face.  
"Yeah. I'm fine."  
I look at my watch again. God, it's been a long time.  
"Are you sure something's not going on that I should know about?"  
"Really, Josh. I'm fine."  
"Hey guys. Where's Catherine, I haven't seen her in a while."  
"She went to the Ladies Room about fifteen minutes ago. I asked her  
if she needed me to stay outside, and she told me just to come back  
and have a good time."  
Donna places a hand on my shoulder.  
"Would you like me to go check on her?"  
I look up at her with pleading eyes.  
"Would you?"  
She smiles at me.  
"Absolutely. We'll be back in a minute."

I knock on the door.  
"Catherine, its Donna. Can I come in?"  
There's no answer. I try the door and it's open. I turn the handle  
and slowly open the door, and my eyes scan the room outside the  
actual bathroom. I don't see her, I wonder where she could be?  
"Catherine, its Donna. Are you ok?"  
I hear a noise from inside the little room, so I walk towards the  
door and knock.  
"Catherine? Are you ok?"  
It sounds like someone crying. I open the door, not caring about who  
or what I may see in there. As soon as I do, I'm frozen in place.  
"Oh my god. I'll be right back. Don't go anywhere."

"It's about time that you and Donna realized what was going on  
between you two."  
"Yeah. She really is a great girl, you know."  
"Yeah, I do. It's just that…"  
I look up and see Donna walking very quickly to our table. I stand  
up immediately when I sense the panic on her face.  
"What is it?"  
"Sam, you need to come with me. Josh, go get the First Lady. Come  
to the Ladies room when you have her, and be quick about it."  
Without hesitation, Josh gets up from his chair and walks over to the  
First Lady who is dancing with Toby. He excuses himself, and  
whispers in her ear. She nods her head and apologizes to Toby for  
cutting short their dance, and heads towards the door with Josh.  
They catch up to us at the door to the room, and the First Lady is  
the first to speak.  
"What the hell is going on here? Sam?"  
"I don't know, Donna just came to get me. She said we'd need you and  
I don't know why, and I'm not sure if I want to find out."  
Donna turns to look at us before we go in.  
"Sam, let me go in first, ok? She's scared."  
"Of what?"  
"Well, let me just go tell her that you're all out here, ok? Just so  
she's ready for you."  
"Ok. I guess."  
Donna knocks on the door, and walks inside. An agonizing moment  
later, she re-opens the door and asks for the First Lady. She goes  
in, and Josh and I are pacing in front of the door. I can only  
imagine what this would look like in the press. The deputies for the  
Chief of Staff and Communications Director pacing like a couple of  
expectant fathers outside the ladies bathroom. I shake my head, and  
just as I'm about to open my mouth to talk to Josh, the door opens  
and the First Lady steps out.  
"Josh, I want you to call my husband, and tell him he needs to order  
the building secured right now, no one in or out from ANY exit. Sam,  
I want you to come in, and be very quiet about it. Ok?"  
"Yes, Ma'am."  
Josh gets on his cell phone and punches some numbers on his keypad as  
he starts to walk back to the ballroom. I enter the room and see  
Donna sitting on the couch, her back to me. She looks up and over  
the couch as she hears us approach her, and I can see that she has  
her hand running along something. I round the end of the couch, and  
I see Catherine curled up in a ball on the couch, Donna's hand  
running over her hair and comforting her.  
"You're gonna be ok. It's over now, you're going to be ok."  
Donna looks up at me and I can see the sad expression on her face. I  
look at her and mouth my thoughts.  
"What happened?"  
She shrugs her shoulders and I cautiously approach them. I kneel  
down in front of them and look at Catherine's face. I carefully  
place my fingertips on her head and quietly speak to her.  
"Catherine, it's me. Are you ok?"  
She opens her eyes and looks at me.  
"Sam?"  
I smile, re-assuring her that everything is going to be ok.  
"Yes, honey. It's me. Are you ok?"  
She starts to cry as she leans her head towards me. I get as close  
to her as I can, and I wrap my arm gently around her, allowing her to  
cry.  
"Sam, my husband is on his way here, and we're going to escort  
Catherine up to the Residence. I'll tend to her there, but Jed will  
have to return to the party for esthetic reasons."  
"Understood, Ma'am."  
"Donna, you'll stay with her upstairs. Sam, I want you and Josh to  
report back to me in twenty minutes about this, and find out who it  
is that's done this to her. Do you understand?"  
"Yes, Ma'am."  
I look at Catherine who is looking at me with petrified eyes.  
"Hey. I have to see Josh for a minute. I'm a phone call away, ok?"  
She starts to shake her head.  
"I have to figure this out."  
She shakes her head again, and I look at the First Lady.  
"Ma'am? What should I do?"  
"We'll do this. You and Josh will meet us in the Residence in five  
minutes. Let me get her some tea and give her a sedative, and it'll  
calm her down a little. We'll meet there, and discuss what we're  
going to do. Ok?"  
"Yes, Ma'am."  
I look at Catherine.  
"I don't know if you heard all that, but I have to get Josh, and then  
in five minutes we're going to meet you in the Residence. The First  
Lady and Donna will be with you constantly, so you won't be alone.  
I'll be right there. I promise."  
She looks at me and doesn't change her expression at all. I don't  
really blame her, I wouldn't be able to either. I lean forward and  
kiss her on the forehead as I whisper to her.  
"I'll be right back. I promise."  
She closes her eyes and cries as Donna continues to try and calm her  
with a soothing voice. As I'm about to leave the room, the First  
Lady turns and looks at me right in the eyes with an authority and  
maternal look that I have never seen in her before.  
"You find this monster, Sam. Then bring him to me."

TBC...  
Feedback is wonderful - just like waiting for FLOTUS to open up a can  
of verbal whoop-ass... :)


	7. Chapter 7

I woke up about three minutes before my buzzer was going to wake me. It's just a habit that I've gotten myself into. I didn't have to get up until about 7:00 this morning, because I don't have to be in the office until about 9:00. I turn the volume on the buzzer down completely and turn over to see Catherine sleeping peacefully beside me. This is gonna be a very good day, I can just tell. I smile, run my fingers along the part of her arm that is outside the blanket, and give her a kiss on the forehead. As I do she starts to stir, but then reverts back to her cuddled-up position in the bed. I pull the sheets back, put on my robe and MY slippers, and walk out to the kitchen to make coffee. After setting the coffee machine, I head to the spare bathroom and have my shower. I could have used mine, but I didn't want the sound of the spray to wake her, so I decided this was my best option. I step out of the shower, dry myself off, rap my robe around me again and go to the kitchen to pour myself a cup of coffee. I grab my cell phone and see that there's a silent message that was sent to me. Gee. I wonder who this could be from. I hit redial and call Josh.  
"Hey buddy. Good morning."  
"Hey, Sam. What's new?"  
I smile.  
"Nothing. You?"  
"Nothing. Same old, same old. How are things?"  
I sit down on the couch and take a sip of my coffee as I quietly flick on the TV.  
"Not much. How'd it go last night?"  
"Last night?"  
"I mean, you know. In the Oval?"  
"Oh yeah. That. Well, let's just say that the First Lady took care of business."  
I smile.  
"Good. I'm glad to hear it."  
"Yeah, and Toby decked the bastard."  
Really?  
"What? Toby? As in Toby Zeigler the Director of Communications?"  
"Yeah, I don't know another one, do you?"  
"No, I mean, it's just not like him to… Let me take that back. It IS like him to do something like that. Did he have the ok to do that?  
It's not going to be a thing, is it?"  
"No, it was just fine. He had the ok from Ron and from the President. I loved watching it, it was great."  
"Good. You read him the order?"  
I take another sip from my coffee. As I do, I hear movement coming from the bedroom.  
"Yeah. He just stood there like a lost little sheep. It was fantastic."  
"Did you say anything?"  
"Yeah. The President let me."  
"Oh god."  
"What?"  
"What did you say?"  
"I told him that if he ever showed his face around here again, I'd personally see to it that he was… well… I didn't really get that far because he cut me off at that point."  
"Really? He had the nerve to do that?"  
"Yeah. But that's when the President gave Toby the OK."  
"I had a feeling that's how it would play out."  
I hear footsteps coming from down the hall, and I head to the kitchen and pour her a cup of coffee.  
"Yeah. I did tell you that the First Lady ripped him a new one, didn't I?"  
"Yeah. You did. I still can't believe that she would say all that. That's fantastic."  
"Hey."  
I turn to see Catherine dressed in her robe and the now infamous bunny slippers, and I speak into the phone.  
"Hang on a sec."  
"K."  
I look at her and smile.  
"Good morning."  
She smiles back.  
"It is. Good morning."  
I hold my arm out to her and she slowly walks toward me. I wrap my arm around her waist, and I place a kiss on her lips. She starts to melt into me, deepening her kiss. I hear a voice from my phone.  
"Sam? Hey buddy, you there?"  
I pull away from Catherine and smile.  
"I'm sorry, I forgot he was on the phone."  
She smiles.  
"That's ok. Go ahead."  
I hand her a mug full of coffee.  
"Thanks. Here you go."  
She accepts the mug from me with a smile.  
"Thank you."  
I smile, and return to my call with Josh.  
"Sorry about that, buddy."  
"Hey, no worries. I understand, these things can happen."  
"Yeah, I'm gonna have to go."  
"Getting a little distracted?"  
"Yeah, it has a tendency to happen when a beautiful woman walks in the room."  
She takes a sip of her coffee, rolls her eyes at me and smiles. I smile back at her, and give her a wink.  
"Ok. I'll see you there in about an hour. I have a few things to do around here before I head over."  
"Ok. Take it easy, I'll see you soon."  
"Ok. Bye."  
I click my phone off, and head into the Living Room to find Catherine. She's sitting at the table, drinking her coffee and reading the morning paper.  
"How are you?"  
She looks up at me.  
"Good. A little tired, but good. You?"  
I give her a sly smile.  
"Pretty much the same. But it's a good kind of tired, do you think?"  
She smiles.  
"Yeah. The best."  
I walk over to her and hold out my hand to her. She takes it and I help her up from the table, taking her in my arms. I run my finger along her face and smile.  
"I couldn't imagine a better way to start the day."  
She looks at me with the `you're incorrigible' look, then smiles.  
"Sam, I'm still kinda tired from last night, well, this morning. Besides, I don't know if my back and legs could take it just yet."  
I smile, and kiss her on top of the head.  
"I don't mean that. Well, that IS a wonderful way to start the day. But I meant that I couldn't imagine a better way to start the day than to wake up and see you laying beside me."  
She starts to cry.  
"Sam, that was the most beautiful…"  
I hold her close to me.  
"I meant it."  
We stand there holding each other for a moment, then I get an idea.

"Cath, why don't you come to work with me today. We can do stuff together."  
She looks at me with curiosity.  
"Sam, I'd be in the way, I know it."  
"There's plenty of things to do there, you know."  
"I don't doubt that, but I'd probably end up signing my name on what I thought was a scrap piece of paper and end up canceling our trade agreements with some foreign country."  
I laugh.  
"I can see your point. Well, what are you going to do today, then?"  
"I don't know. I was thinking that I might, if it's ok with you, head to the supermarket and get something for dinner. Just so you can have something ready for you when you get home."  
I look at her with sincerity in my eyes.  
"You don't have to do that, you know."  
"Sam, I want to. Besides. Someone has to clean out that fridge of yours and take out all your science experiments. It's about time you started studying that course, by the way."  
I laugh.  
"Even if it takes the form of green stuff growing in my fridge?"  
"Well, I can do without that. But I think it will be nice. To go out and get some stuff for you, clean it all out and have it looking just as good as new in no time at all."  
I look at her and smile.  
"Well, if that's what you want to do, that's what you'll do. I should be home sometime later in the evening."  
She looks at me with a thoughtful expression.  
"Josh and Donna."  
"Yeah?"  
"Did you want to invite them over for dinner? I could pick up a roast or something when I'm out."  
She's amazing. I kiss her forehead.  
"If you want me to and if you want to do that, I'm sure they'd love it."  
She smiles a brilliant smile at me, and nods her head.  
"I want to."  
"Good. About 7:30?"  
"Sounds good to me. I should go have a shower so I can get down to business."  
"Ok. I'm going to get dressed."  
"Ok."  
I pick up my coffee from the table and walk to the bedroom, Catherine following behind me and taking a detour from my path, into the bathroom.

We're standing at the front door, and Sam is just getting his things together for work.  
"Are you sure you have everything?"  
He looks over his briefcase and pats his coat pocket.  
"I think so. You have the spare keys?"  
"I certainly do. So about 7:30?"  
"Yeah. That's when we'll be back."  
"Ok. Be prepared for a fantastic dinner, Sam."  
"I will, I'm getting hungry already."  
"Good. I'm glad to hear it."  
We stand there for a minute just looking at each other and smiling. He runs his hand along my face and asks me.  
"Are you sure that you don't want to come with me?"  
"I'm sure. Don't worry about me."  
"I can't help it."  
"Sam, I'm gonna be just fine. I'll be ok."  
He smiles at me.  
"Yes. Yes you will be."  
"Ok. Go to work, Sam."  
"OK."  
He leaves the apartment, and just as he gets close to the elevator, he turns to look at me.  
"What? Did you forget something?"  
"Yes. Something very important."  
He starts to walk back towards the apartment.  
"What? You didn't bring your laptop home last night, and you have everything else with you that you could possibly need. What is it?"  
He's standing right in front of me and he drops his briefcase at his feet.  
"I forgot this."  
He pulls me towards him and places his lips directly on mine, taking me completely by surprise. After a moment of making out like teenagers in the hallway, he pulls away from me.  
"That probably won't last me until 7:30, so I might have to pop home when I take my lunch."  
I smile and shake my head.  
"You're insane. But I love you anyway."  
He smiles.  
"I love you too. I'll see you later. Have a good day."  
"You too. Do some good in the world today, Sam."  
"I'll sure as hell try."  
He walks to the elevator and presses the button. He stands there just looking at me with a smile on his face, and the elevator door opens and he walks in. Just as the elevator door starts to close, I hear him call out.  
"I love you, Catherine."  
The elevator door closes and I lean against the door frame, whispering my response.  
"I love you too, Sam. More than you could ever know."  
I can feel the smile on my lips as I turn and close the door behind me.

FIN.


End file.
